Scars and Bandages
by Shedemei
Summary: Scenes taking place in the same universe/timeline/whatever as my fic "Wounds Both Old and New". Lin/Korra femmeslash.
1. Thank You for Being You

Scars and Bandages

Summary: Scenes taking place in the same universe/timeline/whatever as Wounds Both Old and New.

Disclaimer: If I owned Legend of Korra, Lin would have descape from the Equalists in the season finale and rescue Korra from being de-bending'd by tearing Amon's head off with her bare hands. Also, bender privilege and Korra being the link between the spirit and material worlds would have been addressed WAAAAAAY more. But they wouldn't show the first one on a kids' TV program and...well, they'd better address bender privilege and Korra's spiritual side in book 2...yeah, wherever I was going with this, I don't own the show.

Pairings: Lin/Korra ("Korralin")

Author's Notes: Dear Muses: FUCK. YOU.

Oh, right. Relevant things. This, being the first installment of Scars and Bandages, is Lin and Korra's first time. Are you happy, Korra? You get to sleep with Lin. Have fun.

* * *

_Thank You for Being You_

Korra moaned heavily as Lin's soft tongue traced her opening in long, careful, repeated strokes. She clenched her jaw, trying to stop herself from making noise. Lin paused to lift her head and say, "Go ahead and cry out, Korra."

"B-but...Asami says...guys don't like to hear that kind of thing..." Korra panted.

Lin sat up, hands on her hips. "Do I look like a 'guy' to you?"

Korra let her eyes rove over her lover's beautiful body. It had taken moving spirit world and earth to get Lin to undress, all because of the (slight) toll age had taken on her. No, she didn't look like a teenager, but Korra still couldn't believe she was fifty. Particularly when she was admiring Lin's narrow waist and sculpted stomach muscles. "No," she breathed.

"Good." Lin settled back in between Korra's legs, kissing the girl's delicate flesh as if she were kissing her mouth.

"Ohhh, that's nice."

"Oh, this is nothing, dear avatar."

Lin turned her attention to the little pearl of flesh at the top of Korra's sex, stroking it almost roughly with the tip and then the flat of her tongue. Korra whimpered as sharp tendrils of pleasure curled and spread throughout her lower body, her hips beginning to rise and rock in time with the older woman's ministrations. Wondering if Korra would also react so powerfully to something similar, Lin took hold of the Water Tribe girl's hips, trying to steady her, before covering the girl's bundle of nerves with her lips and suckling lightly. As her teeth brushed the flesh ever so softly, Korra yelped with surprise and elation, ber body straining against Lin's gentle but firm grip.

"Sorry I'm so...I'm...like, moving," Korra gasped.

"Don't be. It's fun to watch. Even better to feel." Lin gave Korra's hip bones a playful squeeze and returned to her pleasuring of the young avatar, giving her a full taste of both her well-practiced techniques. "Which is better?"

"Lin, this is not romantic," whimpered Korra.

"Would you rather your first time be silent and passionate yet unsatisfying, or would you rather we actually work to find out what pleases you the most?"

Korra squirmed. "Both so good. Just keep going."

"Should I alternate, then?"

"Yes, okay? For the love all the spirits in the world, please keep going!"

Lin shrugged. "Well, all right." She did as Korra asked, this time letting herself get a bit rougher. Some of her past lovers might have complained, but Korra only moaned harder. Her strong, toned body writhed with pleasure, her whole self but for her shoulders rising off the mattress, so that Lin was both clinging to Korra and having to move her head with the rhythm of Korra's hips.

"I'm sorry," Korra groaned. "I c-can't help it."

"I have an idea." Lin sat up.

"No no no don't stop..."

"Relax and let me help you out here." Lin swiftly pulled Korra onto her knees so she was upright, lay down, and tried to maneuver one of Korra's legs to the other side of her face.

"Oh...okay..." Korra shifted so she was straddling Lin's head. Lin slipped her arms through the triangle made by Korra's legs and around her waist, gently kneading the girl's sides. Though she was technically on top now, the soft flutter of Lin's breath on her raw, aching core made her feel immensely vulnerable. "Will this make it any easier for you?"

"A bit. But more importantly, you'll be less restricted."

The avatar took a deep, trembling breath. "I like this. I like being able to see your eyes."

"You and my eyes again. I know no one in the Southern Water Tribe has green eyes unless they're mixed blood, but you've seen plenty of green eyes since you've been in Republic City."

"You just don't accept compliments, do you?" Korra reached down to stroke Lin's hair. "You're so nice to me." She grinned shyly. "Trying to be less abrasive than usual?"

"Korra, that's terrible." Lin made a moue before leaning up slightly to continue the intense work of her lips and tongue, holding onto the girl tightly, never breaking rhythm and slowly increasing her pace.

"Lin! Hmmm, hmmm...oh, you're amazing...oh, yes! That! Right there!" Korra threw her head back, feeling as if the very blood was singing in her veins, perhaps because if bloodbending was the worst sensation she had ever felt, what Lin was doing to her now was the best. "Ohh, Lin! Ohhh...!" Korra collapsed on the bed beside Lin, lingering spasms of ecstasy still shaking her body. "Oh, oh Lin..."

Lin stroked the girl's sweaty hair. "You were lovely."

"I was humping your face. I'd think that would look silly." Korra smiled, blushing. Lin had to admit she was surprised at Korra's shyness in bed. She would have expected the young avatar to be fierce and aggressive, but perhaps that would come with more experience. Or maybe she was intimidated, but Lin hoped that wasn't it.

"You look lovely with my tongue inside you."

Korra chuckled out loud at that. "Lin!"

"In all seriousness, though..." Lin trailed her fingertips down Korra's spine. "I love strong women. I love watching your muscles work."

Korra tried to kiss Lin, but she was grinning too hard. "I hope I can be half as good at sex as you are."

"I wouldn't be concerned."

Korra nuzzled close to her lover. "So you were my first. Just like you promised."

Lin draped one arm over Korra's back and kissed the top of her head. "Was it like you expected?"

Korra sighed. "Kind of. I didn't really know what to expect. I just knew it would be awesome. And for the record, it was."

"Good." Lin kissed Korra's hair and settled down, as if to sleep.

"Come on, Lin, what are you doing?" Korra made an attempt to be tantalizing by stroking Lin's breasts with one hand.

"Sleeping?"

"Don't I get a turn?"

Lin sighed, gently pushing Korra's hands away from her chest. "I'd rather you didn't."

"Are you that afraid I'm not going to be any good?" Korra looked hurt. Lin avoided making eye contact with her; more often than not, looking at Korra's eyes caused her to do things she would later regret.

"That's not it at all," Lin insisted.

"Is that why you told me not to be concerned that I'm inexperienced? Because you weren't going to let me touch you?"

"Korra, please drop it and go to sleep."

Korra sat up and placed a fist under her lover's chin, trying to get her to look up. "No! You were the one who wanted to talk about how to please each other!"

Lin moved closer and kissed Korra's forehead. "No, I wanted you to tell me how I could please you."

"Well...do you not like being touched there by anybody, then? Aren't some people like that?" Korra wrapped her arms around Lin's waist.

Lin sighed. "This is going to sound ridiculous, but I don't feel ready."

"You don't want me?" Korra whispered.

Lin clutched Korra to her tightly. "I do, Korra. Very much."

"Okay, so why don't you feel ready?" Korra pressed. "Do you still feel like you'd be taking advantage of me?"

For a moment, Lin was silent, stroking Korra's hair. "Do you remember the first night you stayed here?"

"Of course."

"Remember when you asked me if we could cuddle naked, and then when I took you in my arms, you started telling me how there was nothing you wouldn't do for me and all those other things?"

"Yeah." Korra gave Lin an affectionate little squeeze.

"I suppose...I'm afraid of what I might say to you." Lin dropped a few kisses on the top of the avatar's head.

Korra edged slightly away from Lin so she had room to bring one hand to her lover's front, cupping her palm around one of Lin's breasts. Lin shivered. "I love the shape of your breasts. They're so round and pretty. So perfect."

"Korra..." A whine crept into Lin's voice.

"How about I just keep kissing you no matter what? So you can't, you know, say much? And that's assuming I actually am able to make you feel anything." Korra began gently kneading the soft flesh beneath her hand.

"Ask me while you aren't doing that."

Somewhat wanting to be seductive, but feeling that she would much rather be respectful—she was the avatar, after all—Korra moved her offending hand to Lin's waist. "Do you want me to try to pleasure you if I promise to try to keep you from saying anything mushy?"

Lin sighed, nestling her face in the girl's hair. "We can try. But please...if I ask you to stop, stop."

"Of course." Korra kissed Lin's neck. "Your turn to talk. Tell me what you want me to do for you."

"I like what you're doing now." Lin sighed, rolling onto her back. "You know I like neck kisses. Just...keep moving. And just a warning: I get pushy. It bothered Tenzin."

"Oh, go ahead and be pushy. You can order me around." Korra left a trail of kisses across Lin's collarbones from left to right.

"In that case, get to my breasts already."

Korra giggled. "Yes, ma'am." She obeyed willingly, fastening her lips onto the tip of Lin's breast and suckling hungrily.

"You can be a little rough. You can bite, just do it lightly."

Korra remembered how Lin deliberately let her teeth graze her flesh when Lin had done the same thing for her. She tried to copy that, feeling clumsy as she struggled to use the same amount of precision as her lover had for her. "Is this okay?"

"Use your hand too. On the other one."

"But...is it okay?"

"No. Better than okay. Keep going." Lin arched her back gently, pushing her breast deeper into Korra's mouth.

Korra tried. Fortunately, years of martial arts had given her excellent multitasking skills, and soon she had Lin with her spine tense and bent backward, head lolling sideways onto the pillow, asking for more with her body rather than her words. Korra slipped her free arm under her lover's waist to help keep her steady; the muscles in her back felt like iron. "Just so you know..._mmm_...I don't cry out much. If I'm quiet, it doesn't mean you're doing badly."

"Are you okay, Lin? You're shaking."

"Yes, I...I shake when I...when...that would be the indication that I need you inside me. Now." There could be no question; that was a command.

Korra moved to undo the drawstring on the loose cloth pants Lin was wearing. Lin made no protest until Korra started pulling the pants down.

"Remember when you first asked me to play with your breasts and I reached under your shirt? I like being touched under my clothes."

"Okay, Lin."

Trembling with anticipation—she'd never touched anyone so intimately before—Korra slipped her hand beneath Lin's waistband, fingertips trailing through a patch of surprisingly downy hair, reaching the wet heat between her lover's legs.

"Ooh. All this for me?" Korra whispered as she felt her fingers become slick with the evidence of Lin's desire for her.

"Mmm...of course," Lin sighed.

"So. Um. Should I put my fingers inside you?" Korra felt her cheeks flush.

"You. Had. Better," Lin panted.

Korra obeyed, sliding two fingers into Lin to the hilt. "You're going to have to help me out."

Lin took a short moment to adjust to the feeling of Korra's strong fingers buried within her, a sensation she had almost given up on experiencing. It almost felt like Korra had become a part of her. Somehow, she produced a few short commands. "Curl your fingers. Stroke me."

Korra did, bending down to keep kissing one of her lover's breasts. When Lin's hips began to roll in time with her caresses, Korra let the motion of her hand grow a little quicker and, realizing one of her hands was completely idle, cupped Lin's neglected breast and squeezed gently.

"Good girl, Korra," Lin moaned. Korra's loving actions felt good, they felt_ wonderful_, but it wasn't enough. "I...I need more. Remember..._nnng_...what part of you I was working with my tongue? Touch me there."

Korra tried. She had to pause in her other attempts to please Lin to search out the nub of flesh that she hadn't expected to be so difficult to find. Lin made a low noise of frustration, attempting to grind herself against Korra's hand.

"I'm sorry, Lin, I'm trying. Can I take your pants off so I can look?"

"Fine." Lin yanked her pants off, revealing her elegant, strong, pale legs.

"Oooh, Lin, you're so beautiful." Korra slid backward on the bed as Lin's thighs parted for her. She carefully probed the place between the earthbender's legs with her fingertips, trying to figure out the right place to touch. By luck, her thumb slipped over the protective hood and brushed the cluster of nerves that made Lin cry out sharply.

"Right there, Korra!"

Korra huffed out a breath of relief. "Okay, Lin. I think I've got it." She crooked the two fingers still buried inside her lover and re-started her caresses, this time adding carefully placed strokes of her thumb.

Lin let out a long, shuddering breath, Korra's awkward but enthusiastic touches causing a taut coil of heat to build below her belly, spiraling toward climax. "Yes, you do."

Korra was too focused on her work between Lin's legs to go back to playing with her breasts, but Lin didn't seem to mind. She stopped ordering Korra around, choosing instead to grip the girl's shoulders tightly and let herself cry out. Lin had told the truth about being quiet; her breath came in rough heaves, the occasional low moan escaping her lips. Korra was surprised when she felt Lin's inner walls clench around her fingers and heard the breathless cry of her name.

Korra wiped her hand off on the sheets and leaned over to kiss Lin's face. "Did I do okay?"

Lin sat up halfway to bury her hands in Korra's hair and kiss her hard. "Thank you."

Korra grinned. "You're welcome."

With an exhausted sigh, Lin lay down. "I think we should sleep now."

"Okay." Korra stroked Lin's cheek. Her face was very expressive and Korra loved watching how peaceful and, yes, even happy she could look when they were together. It was such a refreshing change from her constant scowl. "Hey, Lin?"

"Hmm?"

"You're gorgeous." Korra pecked her a kiss. "You know, I didn't think I could love your mouth any more than I did before tonight. You have such nice lips. Now I think I might like your tongue better."

Lin muttered sleepily, "Except for the stupid 'abrasive' comment, I thought you wanted this to be all sappy and romantic."

"Okay, I'll be sappy and romantic." Korra paused. "I think you need to stop being so hard on yourself. I know you tried to keep me safe and you tried to protect the airbending family. You're still amazing and strong and badass. And you're completely beautiful and need to stop whining about keeping your clothes on. Also, you were amazing tonight. I caught myself thinking that if getting bloodbent when my bending was removed was the worst thing I've ever felt, what you did for me tonight was the best."

Lin opened her eyes. Korra started when she saw that they were glistening with tears. "I think you really mean all that."

Korra gathered Lin into her arms. "I do. Lin...I...really do think I'm in love with you."

Lin returned the embrace. "Korra, I...I don't think I'm ready to say that back to you either."

"It's okay." Korra kissed the base of Lin's neck. "You don't have to."

Lin buried her face in her lover's hair. She had no idea if Korra could tell that she was crying, but the soft, riled hair was growing wet. Was Korra really going to put up with her age, her coldness, and the fact that she may have completely lost her ability to love after what had happened with Tenzin? She had completely devoted herself to her career, and here was Korra blundering into her life, being so huggable and kissable and, damn her, adorable.

"Thank you, Korra."

"Hmm? For what?"

"For being you."

* * *

A/N: I know, I can't write smut. What do you want from me? I may be super gay, but I'm also a flaming ace.


	2. Inappropriate

Scars and Bandages

Summary: Scenes taking place in the same universe/timeline/whatever as Wounds Both Old and New.

Disclaimer: If I owned Legend of Korra, Lin would have escaped from the Equalists in the season finale and rescue Korra from being de-bending'd by tearing Amon's head off with her bare hands. Also, bender privilege and Korra being the link between the spirit and material worlds would have been addressed WAAAAAAY more. But they wouldn't show the first one on a kids' TV program and...well, they'd better address bender privilege and Korra's spiritual side in book 2...yeah, wherever I was going with this, I don't own the show.

Pairings: Lin/Korra ("Korralin")

Author's Notes: Dear Muses: FUCK. YOU.

Lin and Korra tell Tenzin about their relationship. Oh boy.

* * *

_Inappropriate_

Korra had been fairly certain Tenzin would, at first, not approve of her relationship with Lin, but then grow supportive at time went by. Lin insisted that he would not understand and demand that Korra and Lin break up.

There was only one way to find out.

The plan had been to keep their relationship a secret from Tenzin. Mako knew, of course, and neither Korra nor Lin had expected Mako to keep something like that from his brother, particularly because Korra knew Mako was still having trouble "sharing" Korra with Lin. Asami knew, too. Korra stubbornly refused to let her friendship with Asami die because of what had happened between Asami and Mako. Asami had sulked and been moody for a week or so, but came around soon enough; for a while, Korra had suspected that she had hooked up with Bolin, but it turned out they had become...well, the only term Korra could think of to accurately describe their relationship was "cuddle buddies". Korra wasn't positive, but she also guessed that Lin had convinced Asami that Korra missed their friendship, and if the growing size of Asami's lapsang souchong tea collection was any indication, Asami and Lin were still spending time together. Now that Asami had several people to spend time with and talk to about her feelings without the pressure of a romantic relationship, that made her much more at ease with Korra. Korra had been concerned that Asami would be jealous that Korra had two lovers and Asami had none, but it did not turn out to be a problem...at least, until Korra and Asami had indulged in a night of quality "girl talk". Korra had spilled about her love life with Lin, as well as their sex life; how surprised Korra had been that Lin could be so gentle and attentive, and how Korra, to a degree that was impossible even with Mako, was completely comfortable being vulnerable in front of Lin. Asami hadn't been the problem; she was comfortable hearing about Korra's lovers now that she was comfortable being single and hers and Korra's friendship was back on track.

The problem was that Ikki had been eavesdropping at the door. She had gone to Tenzin with one crucial question: "Korra says she's 'getting laid'. What does that mean?"

This had resulted in the single most awkward moment of Korra's life. Fortunately, Tenzin had delegated the responsibility to Pema, but Korra got a talk about how her life—particularly her life as avatar—would change dramatically, and for the worse, if she were to become pregnant. Korra tried to brush off the conversation, but as it got more and more awkward—particularly as Pema began detailing things she could do with Mako without pregnancy being a risk—Korra finally blurted out that the person she was being intimate with was not Mako and, in fact, was physically incapable of impregnating her. (Not that she and Mako had done nothing, but Mako understood that Korra could not run the risk of getting pregnant and respected that. Not to mention Korra was much more comfortable being sexual with Lin than with Mako.)

Tenzin, upon finding this out from Pema, had immediately insisted upon meeting Korra's mysterious, older female lover. A time had been set up, and a place—the portico on Air Temple Island—for Tenzin to meet Korra's girlfriend and decide whether or not he approved. And of course, there was a strong implication that if Tenzin disapproved, Korra would not be allowed to see her lover again. Korra had called Lin secretly and asked if she should go ahead and tell Tenzin herself, but Lin didn't want her to have to go through that alone.

Lin got there very early. She had not slept well the night before and had agonized over what to wear, which was a strange experience for her. Growing up with Toph Bei Fong as a mother, she had never seen fit to care at all about her appearance. Her hair had started greying when she was in her mid thirties—mostly due to the stress of being police chief—and there were many people who tried to convince Lin to dye her hair back to black. She had scoffed at them. Once in a while, she enjoyed buying a high-quality garment for herself—she did have to attend ceremonies, and had to look presentable for that sort of thing—but the feminine desire to primp was almost completely alien to her. She thought Tenzin might be slightly less furious with her if she showed up trying to look nice. And there was the added benefit of dressing up for Korra, something she had never had the courage to do but had wanted to try.

She had decided to wear a gown that was a dark forest green color she knew Korra liked on her. The cut was form-fitting, but not inappropriate for a middle-aged woman. She hadn't had a chance to wear it in public. Lin also never wore makeup and had agonized over whether or not to do so that day, and had ended up choosing to put on a thin line of kohl on each eyelid.

Lin waited on the portico, drinking a cup of ginseng peppermint herbal tea to calm her nerves. Asami, who immediately gathered exactly what was going on, had been kind enough to make it for her. She wished she could drink something stronger, but she knew that would be a terrible idea. Eventually Tenzin walked in, and her hand tightened around her cup so hard she was afraid she would break it.

"Lin? What are you doing here?"

"You sent for me," said Lin coolly, pretending to be much calmer than she felt.

Tenzin blinked. "There must be some mistake."

Mercifully, Korra walked onto the balcony at that moment. Her face lit up, and seeing her expression immediately put Lin at ease. "Oh, Lin...did you dress up for me? You look beautiful!"

"Hello, Korra." Lin stood up. Korra ran to her and hugged her tightly. "It's good to see you."

Korra looked carefully at Lin's face. "Are you wearing makeup? I've never seen you wear makeup before."

Lin immediately regretted the decision to put the kohl on her eyelids. "Does it look foolish?"

Korra smiled. "No, I like it! It's subtle. You look gorgeous."

Lin wanted to kiss her.

"Lin...Korra...what is this?" Tenzin looked mortified.

"You wanted to meet the woman Korra is with. Well, she's here." Lin fought to keep her voice even. Korra slipped one hand into hers and squeezed gently.

Tenzin spluttered for a moment before he was able to get any words out. "Is this...is this a joke?"

"No, it's not a joke!" said Korra indignantly. "Come on, Tenzin, Pema's a lot younger than you."

"That's different," Tenzin insisted. "Lin—taking advantage of a seventeen-year-old girl? A young, innocent girl?"

"The age of consent in Republic City is sixteen!" Korra shot back. "And I'm not 'innocent!'"

"Korra, yes, you are. Somewhat." Lin gave Korra's hand a squeeze. "And Tenzin, if you must know, Korra was the one who approached me." Lin turned her head to face her lover. "I let her lead."

"And sometimes push," Korra confessed. "Really, Tenzin, she's not doing anything wrong. You don't know what I had to say to get her to take her bindings off."

Lin pressed two fingertips into her forehead. "Korra, that sort of thing is not going to help."

"I still feel kind of bad about how pushy I was about that," Korra confessed. "Lin isn't the one you need to worry about."

"I would never hurt Korra," Lin insisted. "My interest is not in taking advantage. It's much more...protective."

Tenzin folded his arms. "How long has this been going on?"

"You want me to take this one?" asked Korra gently, and Lin nodded. "It was the night I stayed with Lin after I'd escaped from Tarrlok. I noticed her ribs still needed healing, so I helped. And then I got...all weepy about being scared. She tried to make me feel better, said some really nice things..." Korra took a deep breath. "I always thought she was awesome, but I realized...um...I had feelings for her. I ended up kissing her. It was all my idea."

"So, Lin, what masterful, poetic things did you say to win Korra's heart?" Korra had never heard Tenzin talk like that, even when he caught her sneaking out or disobeying an order. He sounded like he was about to explode.

Lin's eyes were closed, as if in pain. "That I left the hospital even though I was still injured because I wanted to find her. And...that she was special."

"Come on, Tenzin, you dated her. You should, you know. Understand the appeal," Korra interjected; Lin winced. Korra sounded terribly worried and had obviously stopped thinking before she opened her mouth.

"Lin, I need to speak to you in private. Now."

Lin got up silently; Korra grabbed her arm. "Lin!"

"I can handle this. Just...stay here for a moment, honey." Lin dropped a chaste kiss on Korra's cheek. Tenzin looked ill.

"You call her 'honey'?"

"Sometimes," said Lin briefly. She followed Tenzin off the portico and into the hallway. As soon as they were out of Korra's hearing range, he wasted no time.

"Have you completely taken leave of your senses, Lin?"

"Korra loves me."

"I would have thought you would have the self-control to refuse her." Tenzin began pacing with his hands behind his back. Lin recognized that gesture. It was a bad sign.

"I care about Korra very much. There are few things I wouldn't do for her," said Lin loftily. She felt as though she were forcefully pulling the words out her own mind; if there was one thing Lin Bei Fong hated doing, it was talking about her feelings. Except to Korra.

Tenzin shook a finger at her. "She claims she was the one who first...showed interest. But you clearly were trying to get Korra to pay attention to you! Trying to find her while you were still injured—she probably thought that was heroic instead of stupid, didn't she?"

Lin's throat felt dry. Tenzin was completely right, of course, that Korra had made the first move, but Lin had had feelings for her before the night Korra first kissed her. "I was looking for my metalbenders too. It still hurts that I didn't get to them in time."

"Don't change the subject!" Tenzin shouted. "Why did you chase after Korra? Was it to horrify me? Because you knew I would hate it if you were involved with a seventeen-year-old who is the reincarnation of my father?"

Lin felt like slapping him. "Is it so hard to believe that I can do things without you entering into my thoughts?" she snapped. "Or is the thing you find hard to believe the fact that somebody actually wants to be with me? That Korra loves me?"

"Is that what you were trying to prove to me, then?" Tenzin demanded.

"I love her, all right!" Lin's voice rose to what was almost a scream. "I love Korra and I don't give a pigeon-rat's ass what you think of that. I know it's wrong. I know she's too young. And I know she's likely to lose interest within a few months. But she makes me happy."

Tenzin shook his head. "If you do love Korra, you'll understand why I have to do this." He stormed back onto the balcony. Lin followed, listening to Tenzin's completely unfair response to learning of hers and Korra's relationship. "Korra, you are confined to Air Temple Island. If your avatar duties take you off the island, then I or another escort will come with you. And you—Lin—you are banned from the island until further notice. Try to get here and the White Lotus will turn you away."

"That's not fair!" Korra shrieked, leaping to her feet. "That's not fair! You can't keep us apart! We're in love!"

"One day you'll understand why I'm doing this," Tenzin insisted.

"No, I won't! There's nothing wrong with two women being in love, or me being in love with Lin even though she's a lot older. And you can trust her!"

Lin went to Korra's side and touched her cheek lightly. "Korra..." she said brokenly.

"Lin." The avatar's eyes were full of tears. "Please don't leave me. Please don't leave me. I love you."

Lin took Korra into her arms, holding her tightly. "What gave you the impression that I would do that?"

Korra buried her sobs into Lin's shoulder.

"LIN!" Tenzin bellowed. "This is completely inappropriate! Let her go, now!"

"You would make me stop comforting a crying young woman?" Lin stroked Korra's back. "And you accuse me of unfairly using my relationship with Korra. And trust me, she's stronger than she looks, so you can't unwrap her arms from me. Both of us are staying right here."

Korra's sobs quieted after a short while. "I'm sorry. I was scared. I know you were worried about us..."

"I was. But I promised to be here for you." Lin kept one arm around Korra, turning to face Tenzin. "I hope you realize you are up against a Bei Fong and the avatar. You can't keep us apart."

"I love Lin," Korra declared fiercely, having recovered from her brief crying fit. "And you have to deal with it."

Lin kissed Korra goodbye (Tenzin looked like he wanted to blast her off the balcony with airbending) and left, tight-lipped and focused. It was only when she was on the ferry back to the mainland that the tears finally erupted and rolled down her face. Tenzin's words rang in her head: "This is completely inappropriate". He was right. Korra was too young for her. She deserved better. She was likely wrong about how much she cared about Lin, particularly how long they would be together.

But Lin had said she would be with Korra. If she broke up with Korra, then Korra would feel as if she could not lean on Lin for support as she recovered from her battle with Amon and her spiritual difficulties. Also, Korra was clearly still figuring out how she formed and handled romantic interactions. Lin was helping her figure out that she was polyamorous and, eventually, she would help Korra figure out that long-term relationships weren't her style.

With a heavy sigh, Lin leaned over the railing. Korra was so rebellious. Now that Tenzin didn't approve of Lin and Korra's relationship, would Korra's nature lead her to stay with Lin longer than she wanted just because it would stick in Tenzin's craw. Lin hoped not. If there was one experience in her life that she didn't want to repeat, it was being in a damned relationship with someone who wanted to leave her but, for whatever reason, didn't. Perhaps Lin would have to be the one to break it off.

She hoped not. She hoped neither of them would ever break it off.

Korra tried to convince her of that later that night; having already figured out how to sneak past the White Lotus guards, she snuck into Republic City and knocked frantically on Lin's door in the middle of the night. "I must say, I was surprised that you cried today. I haven't seen you so distressed since the night you escaped from Tarrlok," Lin whispered to Korra as the girl lay in her arms.

"There was this terrible look on your face, like you were ready to give up. I thought Tenzin had convinced you to dump me."

Not for the first time, Lin cursed her naturally expressive face. "I was upset that he had reacted just as terribly as I had feared. And it would have been nice for us to stay friends. Animosity is...wearying."

"He's wrong," Korra whispered. "I don't know why he doesn't understand you aren't...ugh, I hate even saying it...taking advantage of me."

"I'd imagine he has come to think of you almost as a daughter. What father would want to believe his daughter is responsible for getting into a relationship with someone thirty-three years her senior?"

Korra groaned. "I have no idea what my mom and dad are going to think. I think maybe my mom suspected I wasn't...only into guys. But the Southern Water Tribe isn't as...progressive as Republic City."

Lin closed her eyes. "I can't believe you think I'm worth all this trouble. If you're lucky enough to be capable of feelings for the opposite sex, why don't you act only on those?"

"It's your fault for being so badass and strong and gorgeous and sexy. I had no choice but to fall in love with you."

Lin sat up and stared at Korra, gobsmacked. "Korra, did you just refer to me as 'sexy'? Have you lost your mind completely? I couldn't be 'sexy' if my life and the lives of everyone I care about depended on it."

"Well, I think badassery and muscles and gorgeousness are sexy. So are your metalbending moves. I would bet at least half of Republic City wants in your pants." Korra grinned mischievously.

"Korra, shut up. That's disgusting." Lin sat up and turned away from Korra, her legs hanging over the side of the bed.

"Lin? Honey, I'm sorry...what's wrong?" Korra sat behind Lin with her arms wrapped around the taller woman's waist. "I'm just trying to tell you that you're beautiful."

"I'm not beautiful. You're beautiful. Asami is beautiful. Pema is beautiful." Lin sighed. "You know, growing up, I always thought being plain was a blessing. I didn't have to waste time worrying about how I looked because there was no hope of me looking...pretty. So why bother?"

Korra kissed Lin's shoulder. "Lin..."

"And before you start with any 'internal beauty' garbage...remember when you said that Tenzin would understand your attraction to me because he cared for me at one point?"

"Yeah."

"He pities you. He pities you for being stuck with me because he knows how brusque and uncaring and fucking impossible I am. He told me if I really love you, I will leave you, with the implication that I know...you deserve...better." Lin was gripping her own kneecaps so hard she would probably leave bruises later. "If I'm reinstated as police chief, I will not have much time to spend with you. I will forget important dates and times I've scheduled to be with you not because I don't care, but because my work made me forget. If I'm not reinstated, I'll feel at odds with the world and I'll be surly and frustrated. I said I wouldn't leave you, and I meant it. So I am giving you a chance to get out now."

Korra nuzzled Lin's neck gently. "Lin, maybe I don't know much about romance. But I do know about love. And it sounds like if I really love you, I'll stay with you so I can help you deal with everything, whether that ends up being getting used to being police chief again or getting used to not being police chief. I'm not going anywhere." Korra slid a hand under Lin's nightdress and up her side to cup one of her breasts.

"Korra, that is completely inappropriate."

"Yeah, well, that's what Tenzin said about us. So I guess I like being 'completely inappropriate'."

Lin sighed and twisted so she could rest her forehead against Korra's. "So do I."

* * *

A/N: I just envision Tenzin overreacting like WHOA, at least at first. He'll probably come around. Eventually.


	3. Dangerously Close

Scars and Bandages

Summary: Scenes taking place in the same universe/timeline/whatever as Wounds Both Old and New.

Disclaimer: If I owned Legend of Korra, Lin would have escaped from the Equalists in the season finale and rescue Korra from being de-bending'd by tearing Amon's head off with her bare hands. Also, bender privilege and Korra being the link between the spirit and material worlds would have been addressed WAAAAAAY more. But they wouldn't show the first one on a kids' TV program and...well, they'd better address bender privilege and Korra's spiritual side in book 2...yeah, wherever I was going with this, I don't own the show.

Pairings: Lin/Korra ("Korralin")

Author's Notes: Dear Muses: FUCK. YOU.

Korralin fluffy smut turns into Lin going into Protective Mode, with an added dash of Linsami friendship. Also, authoress gets on her Fuck Discrimination Soapbox.

* * *

_Dangerously Close_

Korra loved kissing Lin. It wasn't that she disliked kissing Mako; physically, it was exciting, and emotionally, it was sweet. But Lin was another thing entirely. It wasn't that she was a better kisser, though that was part of it—Korra loved the sensations of Lin's teeth closing gently on her lower lip, Lin's tongue lightly grazing hers—but when she was with Lin, she felt that they were connected. Maybe it was that they had both lost their bending. Maybe it was the way they had bonded when Korra had returned Lin's bending or healed her ribs. Sometimes it felt like they had melded in spirit, and Korra lost track of the edges and curves where she ended and Lin began.

Korra's moan was muffled by Lin's mouth as the older woman's hand slid up her side. Lin toyed with Korra's breast bindings, waiting, as usual, for permission. "Please," Korra gasped. "Please, Lin."

"All right." Lin's quick hands had Korra's bindings off in a fraction of a second. Korra felt herself be pulled into Lin's lap, and then one of her lover's hands was artfully cradling the back of her neck, the other hand kneading one breast. Korra's eyes drifted shut as Lin's mouth moved down her throat, tracing the line of her pulse with kisses. Sometimes it still felt miraculous that this tough, hard woman could be so exquisitely gentle.

"I have a surprise for you," Korra whispered.

"Another one of those Water Tribe tattoos?" Lin smiled, tripping her fingers over one of the many Water Tribe symbols drawn in white ink on Korra's back. She and Korra currently had a bet going regarding how many days it would take for Lin to learn to trace all of Korra's tattoos while blindfolded. "In that case, you'll have to give me a few more days."

"It's sort of Water Tribe related, but it's not a tattoo."

"Oh?" Lin raised her eyebrows.

"Why don't you keep undressing me? You'll see what it is."

"Really?" Lin swiftly undid the drawstring on the loose trousers Korra wore to sleep and yanked them down. Korra was wearing no underwear, revealing the fact that her entire pubic area was now completely devoid of hair. Lin pulled back sharply. "Korra...what have you done?" Lin's voice rose in alarm.

"You don't like it?" Korra sat up, looking distressed.

"What did I ever say or do to make you think I wanted you to do this?" Lin lightly touched Korra's thigh. "You're seventeen. I can barely bring myself to let you into my bed because you're so young, and you go and do something that makes you look even younger?"

"I thought...maybe it would feel good..." Korra mumbled.

"I'm more concerned about how much it hurt you," said Lin softly.

"Yeah, it did hurt. It hurt a lot. I thought it would be worth it." Korra started to move away and close her legs, but Lin stopped her.

"No, let me look. You still look all...pink, and swollen. You weren't worried about being in pain tonight?"

"It doesn't hurt anymore."

Lin edged forward slightly, her hand hovering just above Korra's newly unprotected flesh. "You just look so...vulnerable. May I?"

"Mm-hmm."

Lin gently parted Korra's labia with her fingertips. The girl's body had already responded to Lin's earlier kisses and touches, and Lin carefully pushed one finger into the welcoming, soft wetness to the second knuckle. "That doesn't hurt?"

"No." Korra sighed. "Oh, I love it when you touch me there."

"It does feel nice...you not having any hair." Lin retracted her hand. "But you were perfect before. Now, how is you being Water Tribe related to the removal of all your hair?"

"You didn't have to stop," Korra whimpered.

"I want an answer," Lin insisted. "You don't have a good record with answering my questions while I'm inside you."

"If I answer, will you make love to me?"

"I will."

Korra made a noise of frustration. "Asami and I went to a salon today. When I walked in, the woman at the front desk noticed that I was Water Tribe, and she said...she said that Water Tribe girls have a lot of hair. And that...that nobody likes that."

Lin was still for a moment. When she had first found out that Amon had taken Korra's bending, she had experienced a flash of blind rage in which she felt like she could rip out the throat of the person who had harmed Korra. What she currently was feeling was not as strong as her anger at Amon, but she still was overcome with the impulse to give a good slap, or maybe a punch straight to the nose, to whatever person had said made such a disgusting remark.

"Lin?"

"She specifically mentioned that there was something unattractive about Water Tribe women's body hair?"

"Yeah."

Lin took a deep breath. "That's...horrid. I never thought there was anything even...remotely...the ugly stereotype that people from the Water Tribe have excessive hair has mostly fallen out of use. Things like that are mostly used unscrupulously to guilt people into wanting to change their appearance. I might add that if use of such stereotypes is in any way institutionalized, then that is illegal. Had Asami ever patronized this place before?"

"No, it was just close to Air Temple Island." Korra sighed. "Come on, Lin, I want you."

Korra's eyes were closed. She looked like she might cry. "Korra?" Lin probed.

"I just wanted to look nice for you. I'm sorry, I didn't know...I just...I never cared about being pretty, and I didn't know if maybe you thought I had too much hair..."

Lin shook her head. "I always thought you were beautiful. I happen to have liked your hair the way it was."

"I didn't know, Lin..."

"You are still lovely, Korra, but you were lovely the way you were. And rest assured, I will have words with the employees of that salon."

Korra looked up at Lin, eyes filled with gratitude. "Thank you."

"If you wanted this for yourself, Korra, I would have had no problem with it." Lin sank two fingers into Korra's quivering sheath. "But if you want to make some change to yourself to make you feel better...like your pretty tattoos...it should be because you want it, not because of some damn fool salon employee."

"Lin?" Korra moaned softly. "Can you please be on top of me?"

"Of course." Lin situated herself between Korra's parted legs, feeling Korra's hips rise to meet her. Lin held back a little sigh as she felt Korra's core press tightly to hers. "Are you sure that doesn't hurt?"

Korra squirmed. "Not at all. Please, Lin. You can be a little rough tonight."

Lin bent slightly to cover her lover's mouth with kisses as she did what Korra asked, rocking against her, slowly at first and quickening until the thrusts of her hips were short and quick and strong. Korra clung to her, pleading softly for more, to be held tightly. She moaned heavily, the sound seeming to come from a place deeper than mere physical pleasure. When at last they were both sated and exhausted, Lin gathered Korra into her arms. "You are lovely." Lin stroked a particularly ornate symbol just to the left of Korra's spine.

"I was stupid," Korra whispered. "A stupid moment of weakness. I just...I really didn't expect it, so it got to me. Did it...did it at least feel good? For you?"

"You always feel good, honey." Lin lightly scratched Korra's sweaty scalp.

"May I stay the night?"

Lin sighed. "One of these days Tenzin will have someone check your bed in the small hours of the morning and we'll be woken up by my own officers pounding on the door. I can't get my job back if I've been convicted of custodial interference. Also, I can't think of a worse way for the public to find out about us."

Korra made a small noise of protest. "Okay, I'll go. But can I stay and cuddle a little while longer?"

"Fine. A little while."

Korra kissed Lin's cheek. "Thank you."

"Why don't you ever bother your Fire Ferret boy to cuddle with you? Tenzin would be over the moon to find you missing from your bed only to discover you with him." That gave Lin another thought. "What does Mako think of your new hairlessness?"

"Um. He doesn't know yet. I'm pretty sure he'll like it, though. He might actually try using his mouth on me now. Which would be nice, since he has no idea what to do with his hands, and of course we can't actually do the full-blown bed business thing because I seriously need to not get pregnant."

Lin pretended that didn't make her feel sick. In some of her previous relationships, if any of the pathetic flings she'd had since Tenzin left her counted as relationships, she had been able to keep a lover at her side despite being her abrasive, workaholic self by being skilled at giving her partners what they wanted in bed. If Mako learned how to please Korra, what would there be left tethering Korra to her? What would keep Korra's love for her from withering and dying like a sunspot lily without water?

"Is something wrong, Lin? I'm sorry, do you not like me talking about Mako?"

"He's your boyfriend. You can talk about him to your heart's content. But why don't you just tell him what pleases you if he's so clueless?"

"I've tried, or at least I've tried asking. He still doesn't seem to get it. He's not nearly as good as you." Korra kissed Lin's neck a few times. "I don't know what it is, Lin. But I never feel as close to him as I feel to you. Even when we're just kissing or hugging. Tenzin says I'm making progress...maybe it's a spiritual thing."

"So it isn't just the sex that brings you to me every other night?" Lin tried to sound like she was joking, which was difficult, since it was a serious question.

"Oh, no, Lin. Come on." Korra gave Lin a tight squeeze that was almost painful; Lin was about to remind Korra to be careful with her immense avatar strength, except Korra kept talking. "I might not have listened to that stupid girl at the salon today if I didn't...well...I'm improving, but slowly. I'm not going to pester you about metalbending because I know I'm not ready. Ever since Amon escaped, I just...I still feel kind of...like..." Korra groaned. "Sometimes I hate words."

"Keep going," Lin urged gently.

"I still feel kind of like I'm not...I'm just not as good as I thought I was. And you're so awesome, and so talented, and now I know how kind you can be...I was just trying to...to make myself better for you."

Lin maneuvered so she was at Korra's eye level and kissed her softly. "Everyone in this world is always working to make themselves better. And you should be doing that for your sake, not mine, not Mako's, not anyone's. Yes, being the avatar comes with a lot of pressure. But no avatar was born perfect."

Korra stroked Lin's scarred cheek. "I always feel so safe and comfortable with you. And...I don't know, recently, I guess...when I leave your place, I still feel safe and comfortable. Because of you."

Lin gripped Korra's chin and kissed her again. She rolled Korra onto her back, sliding a hand up the back of one of the girl's thighs.

"Mmm, Lin...I thought we were done for the night." Korra gasped lightly as Lin nipped at her collarbone.

"Well, if you weren't so adorable, I wouldn't have to keep you here." Lin let go of Korra's chin, her hand gliding down Korra's neck and chest to gently cradle one breast.

"Fine with me," Korra murmured, wrapping her legs around Lin's waist. "You can keep me with you as long as you want."

* * *

Lin wasn't wearing her uniform when she approached the Shear Pleasure Hair Salon and Spa. Either she could take them by surprise or they would recognize her. She was still in the process of being reinstated as police chief, but there was still citizen's arrest if necessary...and at the moment, she was mostly going for fear.

"Earth Kingdom, am I right? Or do you have some Water Tribe in you?" queried the young woman at the front desk when Lin walked in.

"All Earth Kingdom, thank you," said Lin frostily.

"I bet you're here to get your hair spruced up! Going back to black?" The girl tapped the tip of a pen against her perfectly glossed lips. She looked as if her makeup had been applied with exquisite care, and onto a pale, high-cheekboned, classically comely Fire Nation face. She was so beautiful it made one want to punch her in the nose...or at least that was Lin's reaction.

"My hair has looked exactly like this for over a decade. I plan on keeping it that way. Have you seen two teenage women come through here yesterday? One Fire Nation, one Southern Water Tribe?"

"Hmm." The girl reclined in her chair. "Yeah...the Fire Nation girl was really pretty. Really well-made-up, well-coiffured." She pronounced it "koy-fured". "The Water Tribe chicklet...she needed work. Really rough around the edges, and kind of too buff. Weirdly buff; not exactly attractive, you know?"

Lin clenched her teeth. "Chicklet?"

The girl snorted. "Yeah."

"That..._chicklet_..." Lin took a step forward. "...happens to be the Avatar. The woman who drove Amon out of the city. The link between the spirit world and this one, master of all four elements." Lin took advantage of the girl's gobsmacked reaction to add a little stinger. "And the word is pronounced 'kwaf-fured'."

"Oh. Oh, _damn_." The girl scooted back in her chair. "You're...you're Chief Bei Fong!"

"The Avatar informed me that she received specific comments regarding the nature of Water Tribe beauty...or lack thereof...that were meant to pressure her into receiving certain services from this salon. Comments that came from you. Is that true?"

"I...I..." The girl suddenly looked petrified.

"Perhaps you'd be more comfortable answering that question at the precinct. I may have not be reinstated...yet...could still call one of my officers in here quite easily. And there's always citizen's arrest, and considering how loyal the force still is to me..."

"Okay. Okay." The girl held up her hands. "It wasn't my idea. It was what my boss told me to do."

"You'd do well to learn that following orders is not an excuse. It's too bad all that fancy makeup is wasted on the face of a coward, and cowardice is always hideous. What exactly did your boss tell you to do?"

"There's a list. A list of stuff we should say. Water Tribe, Earth Kingdom, Fire Nation, male, female...I'll take it down now." The girl reached toward a place on her side of the desk where there appeared to be a piece of paper leaning against the wood.

"No, you won't," said Lin coldly. "Don't touch it. What's your name?" (The name on the girl's name tag was "Sunset"; an obvious lie.)

"Sachi. Sachi Uzaka. Please don't arrest me!"

"Bring me your manager."

Lin had never seen anyone run so fast, and she'd seen many fleeing criminals. The girl, her face showing a sickly green under the white powder, returned shortly with a tall, primly dressed woman who appeared immediately to Lin to be waging a fierce and losing battle with the aging process. "Is there some sort of problem, officer?"

"That will be Chief when I'm reinstated. At this moment, I am a very concerned citizen." Lin walked behind the desk, completely ignoring the manager's indignant "You can't go back there". Sure enough, leaning against the desk and only visible to a person sitting in the chair. It was a list detailing common stereotypes regarding the appearances of men and women of the water, earth, and fire races, along with the specific services the salon offered to rectify those problems. "Hmm. Would you look at this?" Lin picked up the piece of paper between two fingers. "Spoken words alone...that can be hard to prove, even with a credible witness. But this..." Lin waved the paper lightly. "Solid evidence that this establishment coerces its patrons to choose services based on making them feel insecure about their race. Now...that's dangerously close to violating the anti-discrimination law my mother had passed, isn't it?"

The manager looked completely shocked; Sachi looked to be a hair's breadth away from quitting on the spot, being physically sick, or both. "I...I assure you I had...no knowledge..."

"Shut up." Lin crumpled the paper inside her fist. "Consider this a warning. Rest assured this establishment will be under close scrutiny from now on. If you are found in violation of the anti-discrimination law again, you'll lose your business license or worse." Lin turned on her heel and left, leaving the manager babbling. As she walked out, she couldn't help but allow herself a tiny smile.

* * *

Lin was whipping up a small batch of rice soup for herself (and Korra, should she choose to visit that night) when she heard a knock at her door. It was not the way Korra knocked. Lin walked to the door and opened it, revealing a slightly distressed-looking Asami Sato.

"Asami. I haven't seen you in a while. Won't you come in?"

Asami walked inside. "I'm sorry," was the first thing out of her mouth. "I hadn't been to Shear Pleasure before. I didn't know they'd say those kind of things to Korra..."

"Calm down, Asami." Lin laid a hand on the girl's shoulder. "I don't blame you."

Asami sighed. "I was already picking my nail polish color when the counter girl started...bullying Korra. I didn't know. She didn't tell me til afterward. And then this morning she told me that you had said the counter girl's remarks about Korra being Water Tribe could technically be in violation of the anti-discrimination law."

"I went to Shear Pleasure today. After I saw that management had provided written instructions for the counter employees to make use of negative stereotypes about appearances based on ethnicity, I...well, I let them off with a warning, but I put the fear of the dark spirits in them."

Asami smiled. "I wish I could have been a cricket-fly on the wall for that."

"They won't be getting patrons to agree to expensive treatments through discriminatory bluster anymore," Lin assured her. "It was the establishment's fault, not yours. I don't blame you for what Korra went through, and she seems to be handling it just fine."

Asami nodded. "She seemed a little happier after talking to you. Actually, she always seems happy after she's been with you."

"Oh, that reminds me..." Lin quickly moved to one of the cabinets in her kitchen and withdrew an unopened bag of loose tea. "I picked this up yesterday on something of a whim. I was going to have Korra bring it to you last night, but it slipped my mind. I know you like unusual flavors of tea, and this is fire lord's puerh. It doesn't taste like lapsang, but then almost nothing else has that smoky flavor. Puerh is more mellow and earthy." Lin held out the packet of tea.

Asami carefully took the packet from Lin, opened it, and inhaled deeply. "Ooh, I like this."

"I hope it tastes as good as it smells."

"Thanks, Lin." Asami placed the tea in her purse. "Lin?"

"Yes?"

Asami stepped forward with her arms out; Lin wrapped Asami in a warm, friendly hug. "I've missed your hugs," she whispered.

"It's been a while since I've seen you. How have you been?"

"It's hard," Asami whispered. "It's hard seeing Mako with...with Korra. I mean...the airbending family and air acolytes have been really kind to me, and Bolin and Korra and I are still good friends. And Pema's been helpful with me feeling like the...the out-of-place non-bender...but...I gave a lot to...well, to join the new Team Avatar, and you seem to be the only one who cares about that. And I have no other place to go, really."

"What is happening to the Sato Manor?"

"I don't know if I'd be able to stay there anymore. It would feel too empty, and...knowing my father had an Equalist base under our house..."

"You should make certain everything is lined up legally for you to inherit Sato Manor. Your father was given a life sentence, so with some legal wangling, some of his belongings should pass on to you now. I have a few lawyer friends for whom I've testified who could help you."

"Thank you." Asami gave Lin a fond little squeeze and let go.

"I know it must be hard to see Mako with Korra," said Lin gently. "I can't imagine having to not only know you've lost someone you love, but to also live with both members of the couple."

Asami nodded, tears seeping out from behind her closed eyes. "Bolin told me he...he asked Korra out, and then just after that he was bringing Korra flowers and saw her kissing Mako. While Mako and I were still dating." Asami wiped her eyes on the back of her sleeve. "After that, Korra sort of...backed off...but what I hated most was that I could tell Mako had feelings for Korra, and he kept trying to pretend everything was fine, even though it was so obvious he was interested in her. I wish he'd just been honest with me." Asami exhaled sharply.

"Korra kissed Mako when he was still with you?" said Lin softly.

Asami nodded. "It was before Tarrlok kidnapped her, so...so before she said she'd be with you. I think. And I know you love her, but..."

"Korra is naturally...honest and open, to a fault. I can see why, if...if she had feelings for Mako, she couldn't help but tell Mako that. But kissing him when he was still with you was wrong of her. The fact that Korra and I are together doesn't change that."

"I think I might need another hug."

Lin nodded, gathering Asami into her arms again. Asami squeezed her friend tightly, no longer trying to hold back her tears. "How did you stand it?" Asami whispered. "How do you deal with seeing someone you lost but still love with somebody else?"

Lin thought for a moment. "There is no easy way. I know I didn't handle it well. Try to surround yourself with other people you care about, try not to dwell on it...and most of all, try to deal with the pain one day at a time."

Asami hunched her upper spine so she could rest her head on Lin's shoulder; Lin stroked her hair, hoping it would help soothe her. "What I miss the most is...is having somebody to kiss and hold and...I miss it. Just casually being close to somebody and knowing it means they love me."

Lin kept sliding her hand through Asami's hair. "That sounds familiar."

"At least you give good hugs."

"Asami, I can honestly say that is the strangest compliment anyone has ever paid me, and Korra has come up with some interesting ones."

Asami retreated from Lin's embrace, looking embarrassed. "I'm sorry. I came here to apologize, not...not cry at you."

Lin shrugged lightly. "This is what friends are for." She used the pad of one thumb to brush a stray tear from Asami's cheekbone.

"Korra's right that you're secretly very kind." Asami clutched her purse to her chest. "I should get back to Air Temple Island and make myself a pot of this...what's it called?"

"Fire lord's puerh."

"Thank you."

Lin politely walked Asami to the door. "You should come by more often, particularly if you feel the need to get out of the Air Temple."

"I will." Asami paused. "Korra is lucky to have you."

"I'm here for you too, if in a different context." Lin patted Asami's cheek. "I'll see you soon."

"Good-bye, Lin..." Asami turned to leave, but stopped herself. "...and one more thing."

"Yes?"

"For what it's worth, I think you and Korra make a really nice couple."

That startled Lin, but after the only feedback she'd heard regarding hers and Korra's relationship was Tenzin's gross overreaction, Asami's comment was a pleasant surprise. "Thank you, Asami. That...that means a lot."

* * *

A/N: I completely support Asami and Lin as cuddle buddies. Also, I'm one of those people who has no problem with people altering their appearances to feel better about themselves...as long as it's what they want. (I have two tattoos, a pierced eyebrow, and a pierced tragus; and after my hair goes gray, it is going to be purple.) And I can totally picture Korra with a bunch of gorgeous white ink Water Tribe tattoos on her back. Can you imagine how easy and safe body mods would be if there were really healing powers?

Also, both lapsang and puerh are delicious. Go try them. /tea enthusiast


	4. A Visit to the Badgermoles

Scars and Bandages

Summary: Scenes taking place in the same universe/timeline/whatever as Wounds Both Old and New.

Disclaimer: If I owned Legend of Korra, Lin would have escaped from the Equalists in the season finale and rescue Korra from being de-bending'd by tearing Amon's head off with her bare hands. Also, bender privilege and Korra being the link between the spirit and material worlds would have been addressed WAAAAAAY more. But they wouldn't show the first one on a kids' TV program and...well, they'd better address bender privilege and Korra's spiritual side in book 2...yeah, wherever I was going with this, I don't own the show.

Pairings: Lin/Korra ("Korralin")

Author's Notes: Because badgermoles are adorable.

* * *

_A Visit to the Badgermoles_

"Korra, are you skipping? Actually _skipping_?"

"I can't help it! I'm excited to finally meet the badgermoles. They taught your mom to earthbend, right? And I heard they're cute! Probably not cuter than Naga, though."

Lin shrugged. "Your Naga slobbers a bit more. The badgermoles are just as affectionate, though."

"Do they have names?" Korra stopped bouncing around on the dirt path long enough to take Lin's hand.

"It's a mated pair. My mother named the female Detchen and the male Cheng."

"Detchen," Korra repeated. "That's not an Earth Kingdom name."

"No, it's an air nomad name. Avatar Aang suggested it when my mother had trouble coming up with a name."

Korra thought about that. "Did your mother come up with either of those names? From what I've heard of your mother, she'd be more likely to name them...like...Fluffyclaws and Sillytail."

Lin snickered. "Those sound more like Sokka, actually. But my mother was fond of...of nicknames. Even her own. When I was very young and I got in trouble, she used to tell me, 'Lin, the Melon Lord orders you to go to your room!' Sometimes she would pick up melons to make her point. Once she picked up a coconut by mistake, and I never let her forget it."

Korra burst out laughing. "I wish I'd had the chance to meet your mother."

"You would have gotten along very well, I'm sure. Actually..." Lin thought for a moment. "She would either be incredibly fond of you, threaten you with miserable death if you end up breaking my heart, or both."

"You don't still think I'm going to break your heart, do you, Lin?" Korra asked softly.

Lin shrugged. "I'm prepared."

"What do you mean? Prepared for what?" Korra took her hand out of Lin's so she could wrap her arm around her lover's waist.

"Well, we aren't going to be together forever. We certainly aren't going to get married. You'll lose interest in me eventually, and you'll be with Mako. Or maybe you'll get tired of both of us."

"You make me sound so callous. I keep saying I love you!"

"I know you do," Lin rested a hand on Korra's shoulder. "I just don't think that's permanent. And I don't think that makes you callous. You'll find people, you'll care about them very much for a short time, and you'll move on."

"You don't know that."

"No, I don't; I just suspect it and I won't be crushed if it happens."

Korra slumped, her head resting against Lin's shoulder; it hindered their walking pace, but she stayed that way. "You don't think one day when you're on your deathbed I'll be sitting right next to you holding your hand and telling you I still love you? Although we Water Tribers age faster than Earth Kingdom, so maybe I'll be in the next bed over."

Lin snorted. "Oh, that's good. You should tell Ikki that one; she loves fairy tales."

Korra didn't argue. She knew Lin was a little upset, and rightfully so; Mako, while he didn't seem to be jealous of Lin, had wanted to make sure he was still Korra's number one, and had proposed that he and Korra start sharing a room. Korra had agreed and the two of them had secretly refurbished an unused room in the Air Temple; at night, both of them snuck off to their secret room to cuddle (among other things). It hadn't been long before Tenzin had caught them. He had been angry, but Korra could tell he was relieved that it was Mako he had caught Korra with and not Lin. After some pleading from Korra, Tenzin had agreed to simply allow Korra and Mako to share a room.

This new arrangement had the side effect of Korra no longer sneaking out at night to see Lin. Getting away during the day was harder; Korra didn't have to sneak, but she was immensely busy with training. When she could see Lin, Lin was usually at work, and half the times Korra showed up at the precinct Lin was either in the field or too busy to talk. Korra went two weeks without making love with Lin before she lost her patience and skipped an evening airbending study session to go into the city. The White Lotus guards had stopped her at the gate, and when Korra had shouted at them that she was going to see Lin and they couldn't stop her, the guards had told her (rather awkwardly) that Tenzin had told them Korra wasn't barred from leaving the island anymore. Ignoring the implication that Tenzin might be under the impression that Korra's relationship with Lin had ended, Korra spurred Naga on to Lin's block. Lin had given Korra a spare key a while ago, and when Lin came home from work that day, Korra had let herself into the apartment and was waiting in Lin's bed wearing nothing but a bracelet that Lin had made for her out of a few metal scraps.

Lin hadn't complained about the new disjointed schedule involved in their continued courtship, nor the smaller amount of time they were forced to spend together. Korra was starting to badly miss her near-nightly visits with Lin, though, and had been overjoyed when Lin offered to bring her to visit the badgermoles. "Well, I'm planning on staying in love with you. I miss coming to see you at night. Maybe...I don't know, every Monday and Thursday night? Tenzin told the White Lotus guards to stop stopping me from leaving."

Lin raised an eyebrow. "Tenzin is allowing our relationship now?"

"I'm not sure if he's okay with our relationship or if he thinks I'm not with you anymore. I don't want to ask because I want it to be any harder for me to see you." Korra waited for Lin to say "Then you shouldn't be making it harder," but, to her surprise, Lin said nothing of the sort.

"Did you suggest Monday in spite or because you know how ragged and cranky I am on Monday nights?"

Korra grinned. "Because. I figured maybe I could cheer you up."

"I could definitely get on board with the idea of coming home every Monday night to find you in my bed again."

"You get home at such odd hours, though...you might sometimes come home late Monday night to find me naked in your bed, but asleep." Korra squeezed Lin's hand.

"Well, that's fine. You being there is what matters."

Korra shook her head; it was so typical of Lin to say something sweet in a completely flat, matter-of-fact tone. "I'm sure you can think of interesting ways to wake me up."

Lin snickered. "You may not be wrong about that."

By then, they had reached the badgermoles' cave. "So should we go inside, or is there a way to call them out?"

"I can call them, but they will be more comfortable if we go into the cave. You're going to have to rely on seismic sense, because it will be very dark."

Korra's seismic sense was limited, but it was developing quickly with Lin's help. It was easy enough when she was alone and could focus, but she doubted she would be able to use it while being distracted by both Lin and the badgermoles. "I'll try. But I might have to just illuminate the cave with firebending at some point, because I can't see how cute the badgermoles are with just seismic sense."

Lin shrugged. "Fair enough."

"I can't see to kiss you in there, either," said Korra with a grin, edging closer to her girlfriend.

Lin rolled her eyes. "Oh, fine." Lin leaned forward and covered Korra's mouth with a warm kiss. Korra wrapped her arms around Lin's waist, savoring the gesture. When Lin kissed her, it was as if the world narrowed to contain just the two of them. How could Lin think Korra would ever lose interest when she could make Korra feel like that?

For Lin was convinced that Korra was going to stop wanting her sooner rather than later. "When you want to leave me, I won't want any unnecessary pain or drama. I won't even ask for an explanation...but I would ask for a kiss goodbye. When you're ready to leave, just kiss me and tell me 'Lin, this is my kiss goodbye', and I won't trouble you again." Since then, Korra had begun asking Lin for kisses rather than initiating them; she didn't want to give Lin any reason to believe she was giving the break-up kiss.

"Shall we go inside?" Lin said softly.

"Hmmrng," said Korra, because Lin was still lightly scratching her scalp, which had a tendency to preclude Korra from forming words.

Lin shook her head with a small smile and took her hand away. "What about now?"

"Yes. Let's meet the badgermoles."

Lin slipped her hand into Korra's and led her into the cave, which was indeed pitch black. Korra could have used her rapidly-improving seismic sense to maneuver, but she preferred to rely on Lin to lead her. "Korra, you aren't using your seismic sense, are you?"

"No. I like it when you lead me around. Same reason I like it when you blindfold me."

"You have no opportunity to use seismic sense while we're in bed. Right now, you do. Stop being a poor student."

Korra made a face, but of course Lin couldn't see it. She let go of Lin's hand, removed her boots and tucked them under her arm, and took a moment to breathe deeply and center herself. Once she could feel the earth breathing—an odd description, but that was what Lin called it and Korra agreed that that was the best word for it—she mentally reached out from the bottoms of her bare feet to "see" Lin standing a few inches away. Lin began walking deeper into the cave; Korra followed, moving slowly and making sure to not to lift her feet up. Lin, much more well-practiced, could walk normally.

"Hang on...is that them?" Korra was beginning to sense heavy footfalls (paw-falls?) deep in the cave.

"Yes, it is. Well done."

"They're getting closer."

"Yes, they can tell I'm coming and they know me."

A few moments later, a loud scuffling announced the badgermoles' arrival; or, really, one of them. Korra could still sense one of them still deep in the cave, but the larger one padded right up to Lin. Korra abandoned seismic sense and lifted up a hand illuminated with firebending.

The badgermole's head was about three times as big as Lin's, and its nose was level with her chest. Lin got on her knees and allowed the animal to sniff her briefly before happily licking her face and neck. Maybe it was the low light, but Korra could have sworn there was an expression of recognition on its face.

"Hullo, Cheng. Yes, I missed you too. I know, I know, I haven't been here in a while." Lin rubbed her face against the badgermole's head and reached up to scratch his ears.

"Awwwwww!" Korra squealed. "That is a...a crazy level of cute."

Cheng got up on his back paws and, after a few failed attempts (his paws were enormous and unwieldy, and clearly he didn't want to hurt Lin), placed his paws on Lin's shoulders, knocking her backwards. "Oh, now you want to wrestle? Fine, then."

Korra watched, openmouthed, as the legendary police chief Lin Bei Fong became quite suddenly embroiled in a rather rough-looking wrestling match with a male badgermole tens of times her size.

"Um, Lin? Are you okay?"

"This is normal," said Lin, laughing. While she was distracted, Cheng planted a massive paw firmly on Lin's chest and held her still while he continued to lick her face. "Oh, Cheng, you got me. So you're going to hold me down and kiss me, huh? You're going to make both Korra and Detchen jealous."

"He's going to cuddle you to death! No, Cheng, she's mine!" Korra ran over, laughing; Cheng immediately scrambled into what looked like a defensive stance and made a deep, strange noise that sounded like a series of short, staccato growls.

"Korra, wait!" Lin got to her feet. "Badgermoles are very protective. He thinks you're going to attack me. You have to approach him slowly. Get down to his nose level so he can smell you."

"'Nose level'?" Korra repeated, kneeling.

"Well, I can't very well say 'eye level'. Badgermoles have vestigial eyes, but they're blind. They operate primarily by smell and seismic sense."

"Do they respond to their names at all?" Korra asked somewhat nervously as Cheng sensed the change in her position and abandoned his defensive posture.

"I've been calling them by their names long enough that yes, they do."

"Um. Hey, Cheng. I probably smell like Lin, so...hopefully...you'll like me." Korra closed her eyes as the badgermole's wet nose brushed lightly against her face, and she heard the loud snuffling noise of Cheng sniffing her. Apparently satisfied, the badgermole gave Korra an affectionate lick to the face. "Hey, there. Who's so cute? You are! Yeah, you are!" Korra scratched his ears the way Lin had done.

"Oh, he likes you."

Korra laughed out loud as Cheng carefully pinned Korra to the cave floor and continued to give her face badgermole-kisses. "Where's Detchen? Don't they usually show up together?"

"Usually, but I still feel her somewhere deeper in the cave. She'll likely be out soon. Hang on..." Lin got down on all fours and sharply struck the ground in a repeated pattern of sounds. "Detchen! Come on out, pretty!"

Korra heard shuffling approaching. She tried to activate her seismic sense, but she was too distracted by Cheng's attempt to continue showing her how much he loved her.

"Oh...she's walking strangely. I hope she's not injured..."

Korra craned to look at the approaching badgermole, but she couldn't see behind Cheng's bulk, so she was startled when Lin cried out in surprise. "Korra! Come see!"

It took some doing to wriggle out from under Cheng's paws, but she made it, and when she got up, she generated fire with one hand to see what Lin was looking at, and when she did, she let out a squeal more high-pitched than she would have believed possible. Cradled in Lin's arms was a tiny pink badgermole about the size Naga had been as a pup, covered in a thin layer of brown fluff, eyes still closed. "Aaaaah, she is so _cute_!"

The baby badgermole squeaked and turned over, rubbing its face with its paws; this time Korra made a noise so high-pitched she couldn't even hear it. "Who's so sleepy?" Lin singsonged, holding the little blind animal closer.

Korra chuckled. "Lin, do you have any idea how weird it is to hear you talking like that?"

"Oh, shut up," said Lin crossly, sounding much more like herself. "You're the one squeaking like the little kit here."

"We should name her!"

"Why don't you pick up her brother?" Lin suggested, leaning her head toward Detchen. "It would seem Detchen had two kits."

"Kits? Are that what baby badgermoles are called?"

"Yes. Make sure you approach Detchen slowly; if she thinks you're going to harm her baby, she'll take your head off before I can move."

Korra extinguished the fire—she couldn't very well hold a baby badgermole with a flaming hand—and knelt the way she had in front of Cheng. "Hey, Detchen. Can I cuddle your cute little kit? I promise I'll be nice!"

Detchen sniffed Korra's face and judged her worthy with a lick. Korra gently scratched the mama badgermole's head, then waited while Detchen licked her face again. Her eyes had somewhat adjusted to the light, so she edged over to Detchen's flank where the male kit clung to its mother's fur. "Hey, sweetie," Korra cooed, holding out a hand to let the baby sniff her. "Can I hold you?" When she tried to take the kit into her arms, he let go and cuddled up to her. "_Awwwwwww!_"

"Korra, if you keep making noises like that, you're going to scare them."

Korra squinted over at Lin; her eyes had somewhat adjusted to the low light and she could see that the female kit was sitting up in Lin's arms and was licking her face. "Aww, you take after your daddy, don't you?"

"What are you going to call her?" Korra leaned over to kiss the male badgermole kit's head; he sneezed, and Korra let out another delighted squeak.

"Syojin," said Lin instantly. "Her name is Syojin."

The kit seemed to approve of her new name, because she immediately returned to acting on what was apparently an obsessive desire to bathe Lin's face.

"Lin, did you have names for them already picked out?" Korra teased.

Korra couldn't see, but she could guess that Lin was likely glaring at her. "I knew Detchen was pregnant, so I thought about names."

"Did you think of any good ones for a little boy badgermole?"

"I did, but since you wanted so badly to visit the badgermole family and this is your first time doing so, I think you should pick a name for him."

Korra thought about that while gently scratching the kit's head; unlike his active, affectionate sister, he had decided that Korra's lap was the perfect place to take a nap. "How about Sennahi? Then they can both have names that start with 's'."

"Sennahi," Lin repeated. "I like that. Why does it sound so familiar?"

"It's the male version of my mom's name."

"Ah. No wonde—mmpf! _Syojin!_" Korra held up one hand to illuminate the cave again, this time seeing that Syojin was standing with her hind paws on one of Lin's arms, her front paws on Lin's shoulders, and her tongue still covering Lin's face and neck with badgermole-kisses. Apparently, Syojin had decided Lin's face wasn't clean enough while she had been trying to talk. "I think this little one might be planning on making a meal of me."

"Do they even eat meat?"

"Yes, badgermoles can only eat meat."

Korra looked down at Sennahi, who appeared to be fast asleep. "We can trade if you want. I think Sennahi just wants a cozy place to sleep."

"All right." Lin scooted over to Korra on her knees and handed Syojin to Korra before plucking up Sennahi from the avatar's lap. "So sleepy, aren't you?" Lin held Sennahi against her chest. "Oh, you like to cuddle while you sleep."

"Badgermoles are very cuddly, it seems," said Korra with a grin. Syojin was already standing up in her lap and licking her chin. "And very affectionate."

"They're very agreeable creatures."

Syojin soon tired of licking Korra's face and decided that she also wanted to nap. Since both the kits were asleep, Lin handed Sennahi back to Detchen and quietly suggested that they leave. "Kits sleep all but one or two hours of the day when they are first born. We should let them rest."

Korra had wanted to wrestle with Cheng again, but she took Lin's hand and followed her out of the cave. When the sunlight hit Korra's eyes, she squinted and blinked, nearly blinded by the brightness. When her eyes adjusted, the first thing that her vision focused on was Lin, and she made a little noise that was almost a moan; Lin glanced at her with an eyebrow raised inquisitively.

"We spend an hour in a cave where I can't see and I almost forget how beautiful you are."

Lin rolled her eyes. "You know, you've called me 'beautiful' almost enough times to make me believe it."

"It really does make me crazy when you wear tank tops." Korra pulled her hand from Lin's so she could move closer to her lover and let her hands glide up and down Lin's hips and sides, over her back and her waist. "You're so strong and gorgeous and lean and perfect and shapely and mmm..." Korra pressed her face to Lin's neck, brushing her lips against the cool skin.

"Korra, honey, you've stopped using words." But Lin returned Korra's embrace anyway.

"I love your neck," Korra whispered, continuing to kiss the aforementioned part of Lin's body, her hands still absentmindedly tracing random circles on Lin's back. Lin let her eyes drift shut. She wouldn't admit it under torture, but being touched in such a way by Korra had a powerful sedative effect on her. Lin bit her lower lip to keep from vocalizing as she felt Korra's fingertips slide beneath the fabric of her shirt. "I wish we were already back at your place. You're wearing too many clothes."

"Korra..."

"When we get back? Please?" Korra murmured. "It's been too long."

Lin sighed. "All right. You're right, it has been too long."

Korra made a very badgermole-like happy noise, choosing to also react to Lin's accession by sliding her hand up Lin's ribs to playfully squeeze one of her breasts. "I like these."

"Have you ever touched a girl your age the way you touch me?"

"Why would I when I have you?" Korra dotted the underside of Lin's chin with kisses.

"You should try it. You don't know what you're missing."

Korra made a face. She took both of her hands off of Lin's body and rested an index fingertip beside each of Lin's eyes. "I also like these." She stood on tiptoe and pecked Lin a kiss on the mouth. "And these." Finally, she brushed one thumb over the scars on Lin's cheek. "And these. All pretty unique to you."

Lin didn't have an answer for that, so she just pulled Korra into a bone-crushing embrace.

"Thank you for bringing me to meet the badgermoles," Korra whispered. "I knew you really liked them, but it seems like they're like your pets. They treat you like family."

"They really are."

"So now I've met your officers and the badgermoles. When are you going to meet my family?"

Lin groaned. "Honey, we've talked about this."

"Yeah, and I wasn't satisfied with your answer."

"Do you really want to upset your parents over nothing?"

Startled, Korra stepped back from their embrace. "Wait...'nothing'? Did you just call my relationship with you 'nothing'?"

Lin rested a hand on Korra's cheek, a look of unsubtle sadness in her eyes. "That isn't at all what I meant. I could never think of a relationship with someone I love as much as I love you as 'nothing'."

Korra blinked. "You just...you just said that you loved me. Twice."

Lin shrugged. "I suppose I did."

"You've never said you loved me before!"

"I know. About time, right?" Lin kissed Korra's cheek. "I did not mean to imply that I don't care about our relationship. I do. Very much. But your parents might be concerned or...or panicked over you being in a relationship with another woman who is thirty-three years your senior."

"I'll be eighteen in a month. And the age of consent in Republic City is sixteen, and it's only fifteen in the Southern Water Tribe!"

"I'm not just talking about...about physical intimacy, Korra," said Lin gently. "I'm talking about it looking like I'm emotionally manipulating you into being with me despite the fact that I'm so much older than you. It makes me seem...untrustworthy. Suspicious."

Korra made a face. "Yeah, sure. The _former Chief of Police_ is totally an untrustworthy, creepy, suspicious-looking...um...suspicious...type...pers on."

"But I would never take advantage of you or pressure you into anything you weren't comfortable with." Lin rested her forehead against Korra's. "Your parents might be upset, and since they are so far away, they would have nothing but your word to assuage them. And, spirits forbid, they might write to Tenzin to ask about us. They might be concerned, but they actually have nothing to worry about. That is what I meant when I said 'upset your parents over nothing'."

"But I'm so happy with you," Korra protested. "I like sharing things with my parents. I want to share how happy I am to have you with them."

"How common is it for a young woman to be romantically involved with more than one person in the Southern Water Tribe?"

Korra chewed her lower lip. "It's not unheard of. A lot of younger people court two or three people at the same time when they first start dating, you know, to figure out what kind of person they're into. I mean, that's usually around thirteen of fourteen, but I was always more interested in avatar training than boys..."

"And how many teenagers are involved with people older than their parents?"

Korra hung her head. "Not many," she said in a small voice.

"Well, I didn't know that polyamory was accepted at all in the Southern Water Tribe. Maybe if you emphasize to your parents that Mako is your first priority and we're not particularly serious..."

"I think we're serious," Korra whispered. Lin kissed one of Korra's hands instead of replying verbally. "And...I mean...I don't think I want Mako to be my main boyfriend or partner or whatever anymore."

"Korra...what are you saying?" Lin struggled to keep her voice level.

"Ever since Mako and I started sharing a room, I've kept thinking how I thought it was a good idea at first...but I wish I hadn't. The bedroom stuff is...nice...I mean, now Mako's listening to me about what I like...but he's not you. And when I cuddle up to him afterward so we can sleep, I keep thinking that I wish it were you holding me. And...I've been talking to Asami a lot..." Korra paused to collect her thoughts and Lin remained silent. She knew perfectly well by now that putting her feelings into words was one of Korra's weaknesses. "She's not mad at me. She's never been mad at me. I would have thought she would be mad at me for taking Mako from her. But...I guess she doesn't blame me? She told me...she told me how he acted when Tarrlok had kidnapped me, and how she was pretty convinced that after that, she wouldn't want to be with him." Korra flung her arms around Lin and buried her face in her girlfriend's shoulder. "He almost burned somebody's face off. And he yelled at Asami. And I didn't...I didn't think anything of it...but...remember when I was convinced Hiroshi Sato was up to something Equalist?"

"And you were right? Yes."

Korra nestled her face against the soft, warm skin of Lin's throat, but even that closeness couldn't comfort her. "Mako...it was upsetting Mako that I was accusing Asami's dad. He said if I wouldn't drop it, we couldn't be friends anymore."

"That is an unfair thing to say," said Lin softly. "_Very_ unfair. And somewhat worrisome."

"And...and you believed me. You hated my guts at that point and you believed me!"

"I never hated you. You frustrated me, but I never hated you." Lin caressed the back of Korra's neck with just her fingertips; she knew Korra found that comforting, and she was rewarded with the feeling of the girl relaxing slightly in her arms.

"I just...have doubts," said Korra in a very small voice. "I love him, but...I get this weird feeling that he's only not jealous of you because he has no idea how much I love you. And I feel like he has to be in control. Not...necessarily...controlling, but...it's just a vibe. He hasn't said or done anything to make me think that, but...there's something about that vibe that makes me uncomfortable."

"So you can't pinpoint what makes you think Mako needs to be in control? Besides that...that ultimatum he gave you?" Lin ran her hands up and down Korra's back.

"That's part of it." Korra sighed, letting herself focus on Lin's caresses for a moment. "And...and you know, I...I keep thinking about how Asami told me Mako basically cheated on her. But I thought I couldn't...I couldn't get mad at him for that, or think I wouldn't want to be with someone like that...because...because that's what I did to you. I kissed Mako even though I'd asked you to be with me."

"Did Mako ever apologize to Asami? Or admit he was wrong, the way you did to me?"

"He said he was sorry everything got screwed up. But he never admitted he'd hurt Asami or that he shouldn't have gone after me even with him and Asami still being together."

"Well, at least he apologized." Lin kissed the top of Korra's head.

"I don't love him as much as I love you." Korra pressed a long kiss to the base of Lin's neck. "You may have not been reinstated as police chief yet, but...you're the chief of my heart."

"How long did it take for you to come up with that?" Lin whispered, lowering her voice to hide how touched she was by that comment.

"A while." Korra slid her hands up under Lin's shirt again, drinking in the sensation of the soft skin and steely muscles under her palms.

"Korra...do sad, intense conversations arouse you?"

"No. Feeling close to you soothes me." Korra nuzzled Lin's collarbone. "I wish we were in bed now. I want you to kiss me all over. I want to feel like we're the only two people there are. That's how you make me feel."

Lin rolled her shoulders forward slightly so she could kiss Korra just under her jaw line. "Yes. I know that feeling." Suddenly she pulled back from their embrace and held up a hand. "Wait. I sense something."

"Someday you're going to have to teach me how you keep your seismic sense activated all the time. I mean, your mother needed it to see, but come on!"

Lin trotted over to the cave entrance. "I think one of the kits is coming back." She knelt and waited, and half a second later she had scooped up the badgermole kit who had just emerged. "Well, hel-_lo_ there, Sennahi. I can feel your mama a few feet away, and good thing too, or I'd be worried. How did you get away from her? Could you both tell Korra was upset? Could you?"

"You think that's why he came back?" Korra walked over.

"Badgermoles are very empathic. And Sennahi here appears to have bonded with you." Lin carefully handed the kit to Korra, whose arms were outstretched to hold the young badgermole.

"Hey, Sennahi. Hey, cutie." Korra gently held the kit to her chest; he licked her chin once and settled down in her arms, apparently still convinced that Korra was his bed.

Lin smiled, shaking her head. "Normally, badgermoles show affection by licking, but I'm fairly sure that means he likes you." Suddenly Lin turned behind her. "Hello, Detchen. Don't worry; we're taking good care of your baby."

Korra saw Detchen's nose emerging from the shadows; apparently she had poked Lin's leg to get her attention. "Okay, Detchen. It's really sweet that Sennahi wanted to cuddle, but I think Lin has me covered on the comforting-me front." She let the little badgermole down; he whined in protest at being deprived of his naptime, but crawled back to his mother. Lin was watching to make sure Detchen and Sennahi were properly reunited, and she let out a surprisingly unbecoming yelp when Korra threw her arms around her.

"Korra!"

"Thanks again for bringing me here. And for listening to me whine. Particularly about Mako."

"What are you going to do about Mako?" Lin asked softly. "It sounds like you're...unhappy with the current status of your relationship with him."

"I'll have to think about it," said Korra so quietly Lin could barely understand her. "All I know is I want you to be my number one."

Lin was silent for a moment. "Will you answer something for me, Korra?"

"Sure."

"Do you want me to be your 'number one', as you put it, because you're trying to convince me you never want to leave me, or because Mako is genuinely making you uncomfortable?"

Korra did not reply at first. "Lin, I...I don't want to leave you. Ever. But your head is harder than your uniform, so I figure I'll prove I never want to leave you when we're still together in twenty years. I don't like how Mako is acting around me and I don't like how he treated Asami, and when I told him I was upset about him telling me he wouldn't be friends with me if I didn't stop accusing Asami's dad...he just brushed it off. So it's...it's Mako."

Lin leaned back from their embrace far enough to kiss Korra briefly. "Thank you for answering me honestly."

Korra let her head loll forward; Lin took the hint and leaned down so their foreheads were touching. "Even if you couldn't use your earthbending as a lie detector, I wouldn't lie to you. Can we please go back to your apartment now?"

Lin could feel need resonating from Korra with her seismic sense, but the soft desperation in her lover's voice was enough to tell that was going to be a long night in the best sort of way. "Yes."

* * *

A/N: I wish we saw more of the badgermoles in AtLA, because they are awesome and adorable and I love them. Also, I wasn't sure how to make them act; we saw one of them licking Toph to show affection, and other than that I wasn't sure what they would do during a visit from Lin and Korra. So I made them act kind of like dogs and kind of like mustelids, because badgers are mustelids and I have seen domesticated mustelids (in my case, ferrets) show affection in weird and adorable ways. One of them-who was blind, incidentally-liked to use my ankles as her napkin after eating in order to show how much she loved me. Another one of them liked to nap in my arms or on my lap.

And...oh, Mako. I really don't ship Makorra. But it was a conversation with another LoK-loving friend of mine a few days ago that reminded me of how controlling Mako can act, and...yeah, I've been looking for an excuse for Lin to be Korra's one and only in this fic :P


	5. The Edge of Reason

Scars and Bandages

Summary: Scenes taking place in the same universe/timeline/whatever as Wounds Both Old and New.

Disclaimer: If I owned Legend of Korra, Lin would have escaped from the Equalists in the season finale and rescued Korra from being de-bending'd by tearing Amon's head off with her bare hands. Also, bender privilege and Korra being the link between the spirit and material worlds would have been addressed WAAAAAAY more. But they wouldn't show the first one on a kids' TV program and...well, they'd better address bender privilege and Korra's spiritual side in book 2...yeah, wherever I was going with this, I don't own the show.

Pairings: Lin/Korra ("Korralin")

Author's Notes: I don't like Pema. I'm not one of the "ASDFJKL; PEMA IS SUCH A HOMEWRECKING WHORE" people, but I have problems with the way she was written. So I'm trying to make Pema, erm, use her head a little more in this chapter.

* * *

_The Edge of Reason_

Lin could both sense hear the footsteps as they advanced toward her door. There were two pairs of feet, and she recognized their owners; the two people on her front step were two of her officers. She could overhear them arguing:

"This has to be the wrong address."

"Just knock."

"No, double check."

"I've checked three times!"

Lin was waiting right in front of the door when the knock came, but she waited half a second before opening it to avoid startling them. "Hyung. Zian. Taking the break of dawn shift, I see?"

Zian made a valiant attempt not to look embarrassed; to his credit, Lin could only tell he was embarrassed because she knew him so well. Hyung, meanwhile, was making no attempt to mask his glare that was aimed at Zian and could only be saying "I told you the Chief lived here".

"Er, sorry about this, Chief," said Zian, his cheeks reddening. "We received an anonymous tip this morning...Hyung thought we should check it out..."

"Excuses, Zian?" Lin deadpanned, raising an eyebrow.

"It was my idea to follow up on that tip, Chief, and I'm sorry I didn't cross-reference the address," Hyung spoke up. "I thought we should at least check out any tip that stated the Avatar might be in danger."

"Well, she is here. I take it you'll be wanting to escort her home. And you might as well come in; I don't want the kongee to boil over." Lin stepped aside to allow her somewhat befuddled-looking officers into the entryway and closed the door. "Korra!" Lin called in the general direction of her bedroom. When there was no response, Lin tried again. "Korra! Are you even awake?"

The avatar, still wearing a half-unbuttoned nightgown and her hair in a chaotic mass of tangles, slouched into the room, rubbing her eyes. Her whining response could only have been written as "WHAAAAA-aaaaaat?"

"I think Tenzin wants you to come home now."

Korra turned her bleary eyes toward the two policemen standing in the doorway. "Ugh, he called your own squad on you? Lame."

"Go get dressed. My officers have more important things to do than wait for you in my kitchen."

"But I want breakfast!" Korra whined. "I'm hungry!"

"The kongee is almost done. You can take some with you."

"Kongee is gross when it's cold." Korra pouted.

"Are you capable of firebending or not? Keep it warm yourself and eat it when you get back to Air Temple Island. And stop whinging. It takes a decade off your age, which makes me _immensely _uncomfortable."

Grumbling incoherently, Korra lumbered back toward the bedroom. "_Fine._"

"And comb your hair!" Lin called after her. "You look like my mother!"

The sound that Korra made in response did not remotely resemble any word.

Lin went back to the stove to turn off the heat before turning apologetically to the two officers, who were no longer attempting to hide conceal their puzzlement. "I'll have to apologize for the avatar. She isn't exactly a morning person."

Neither of the policemen could think of anything to say; Zian cleared his throat to fill the awkward pause. Fortunately, Korra came shuffling back into the kitchen, fully dressed and having made an attempt to fix her hair. She completely ignored the two officers and went straight to Lin, burying her face in her lover's shoulder.

"Yes, hello, Korra. Good morning. For spirits' sake, have some manners. We have company."

Korra wrapped her arms around Lin and made garbled noises into the fabric of her robe.

"There is no such thing as 'too early for manners'. You're a public figure. What's going to happen when you have to give a speech or present an award before the sun is high?"

More indecipherable sounds. Hyung and Zian exchanged glances, wondering how Lin managed to pick meaning out of Korra's sleepy mumbling.

"Yes, well, sometimes you won't be able to re-schedule. Now stop being a child and say hello, and I'll get you a bowl of kongee to take with you." Lin planted a businesslike kiss on top of Korra's head and went to retrieve a pair of bowls from a nearby cabinet.

Korra waved drowsily at the two policemen. "Morning, Officer Zian. Hi, Officer Hyung. Notice I'm not saying 'good morning' because there is no such thing."

"Really, Korra?" Lin handed a bowl wrapped in a clean white dishcloth to Korra. "Here's your breakfast."

"Thanks, Lin." Korra took the bowl with one hand and stood up on tiptoe with surprising swiftness to steal a goodbye kiss.

"You really need to learn how to behave when we have guests," Lin sighed.

"I'm being dragged away from my girlfriend and Tenzin is being a complete overprotective cloud-brain! I'll kiss you goodbye if I want!" Korra protested loudly.

"Of course Tenzin is being a complete overprotective cloud-brain. But that doesn't give you the right to carelessly make our relationship public."

"It's just your metalbenders!" Korra countered. "They'll keep it a secret, right?"

Lin fixed Hyung and then Zian with a withering look that was colloquially known in the metalbending unit as "The Five-Day Rip Glare". Zian nodded emphatically, and Hyung hastily added, "Your secret is safe with us, Chief."

"Good," said Lin flatly. "Hyung, Zian, I'll see you both later…Korra…" Lin paused to give Korra a quick hug. "I'll call."

Korra nodded. "Okay." She shuffled out the door, followed swiftly by the two officers, who clearly wanted to escape the surreal experience of seeing their revered chief in a housecoat making breakfast.

There was not room for Korra in the front of the police Satomobile on the way back to Air Temple Island, but she didn't seem to care; she was silent for most of it, partly because she was drooping sleepily over the bowl of kongee in her lap. Hyung broke the silence by calling back to her, "You might want to focus by keeping that warm, kid."

"Oh, yeah…right…" said Korra sleepily, but this time she was at least coherent enough for the officers to understand her.

"Dammit, Keh, now you're reminding me how hungry I am," Zian grumbled, tightening his hands on the steering wheel.

"You're just out of sorts because the Chief saw you blushing. You ate five eggs before the shift started," Hyung rebutted.

"The kongee smells good, all right?"

"It does, though," Korra interjected. "Lin's a really good cook."

"Darkest spirits," Zian muttered in response to Korra's use of the Chief's given name.

"So…you and the Chief, huh?" queried Hyung.

Korra smiled almost dreamily. "Yeah, me and the Chief. Except I'm pretty sure she'll tank your career if you tell anyone. That is, if she doesn't kill you."

"Don't worry, kid, we won't say anything," Zian assured her. "Even if our careers and butts weren't on the line, we know better than to let civilians know anything personal about our unit."

"You're a lucky girl, avatar," said Hyung as they pulled up to the ferry dock. Only two Satomobiles were allowed on each ferry to Air Temple Island, but theirs was the only one in line, and soon they were on their way across the water.

"Yep, I am."

The rest of the ride was quiet, although the awkwardness in the air was still fairly palpable, as if both officers were exuding uncomfortable thoughts regarding their newfound knowledge of their police chief's relationship with the young avatar. By the time the car pulled up to the Air Temple and Korra got out after thanking the two officers for the ride, Hyung had decided what his opinion was.

"Hey, avatar?"

Korra turned back toward him, mildly surprised. "Yeah?"

"We're certainly happy for you and the Chief, but if you break her heart, we _will _have to kill you."

"Slowly and painfully," added Zian.

"And we're not just saying this because we know you'll be reincarnated," Hyung continued. "You break Chief Beifong's heart, we kill you. It's nothing personal."

Korra couldn't help but grin. "Understood, Officer Hyung." She scampered back into the temple, smiling so widely her face began hurting.

In a window two stories up, a figure watched until Korra had disappeared inside. The figure cringed as Korra's voice, hollering for Tenzin about calling the cops on her and Lin, echoed through the hallways. With a sigh, the figure turned away from the window.

* * *

It was rather late when Lin got home, as she had gotten into work around the same time most of her other officers arrived, and she was ordinarily the first person to get into the precinct (except for those who had been working all night). She had just gotten her armor off and was dressed in her trousers and tank top when the doorbell rang. Somewhat hoping it was a surprise visit from Korra, Lin went to the door. Unfortunately, she was wrong.

"Pema. What are you doing here?"

"I need to talk to you."

Lin held back a sigh. It was only out of politeness that she stepped aside and let Pema walk into the entryway. "Fine. What is it?"

Pema took a deep breath. "Just how serious are you and Korra?"

"Why don't you ask her?"

"I have. I don't think she's being entirely truthful."

"We're not serious at all. She's much closer to Mako. Now if you'll excuse me, I've had a long day at work…"

Lin turned away, dismissing the other woman in a way she knew perfectly well was rude but was past caring.

"Korra broke up with Mako this morning."

Lin whirled on Pema. "What? Are you serious?"

Pema nodded. "After Korra got home this morning, she raised a stink with Tenzin. Mako was trying to get her to calm down, but he got frustrated with her and then asked her to choose between you and him."

Lin felt as if there were ice in her throat. "So? It sounds like it was just an argument."

Pema bit her lip. "I don't think so. She started yelling at him that she couldn't be with someone who had cheated without thinking he'd done anything wrong, or something like that. She said…she was afraid he was going to end up trying to control her, and even if he didn't…um…and…"

"And what?" Lin prompted.

"She said even if that didn't happen…well, her exact words were 'Lin loves me ten times more than you ever could'."

Lin could think of no other response besides "ah".

"And she followed that up with 'and I love her ten times more than I could ever love you'."

"She said that?" The words left Lin's mouth before she could censor herself.

Pema took a deep breath. "Lin, this is a real problem."

"And why is that, pray tell?" Lin didn't bother trying to soften the edge in her voice.

"Do you think Korra really feels that way about you?"

Lin supposed that if she wasn't going to hide her annoyance, she shouldn't expect Pema to hide her disbelief, but that didn't change her desire to slap Pema in the face. "She has repeatedly said she loves me, and she has…mentioned that she'd prefer that I be her primary. And in case you've forgotten, I'm one of the most accomplished lie detectors in the precinct even without my seismic sense, so I know she's telling the truth. I'm sorry it's so difficult to believe a beautiful, talented young woman could actually care for me." Her last sentence was saturated with sarcasm.

"She's…happy with you?" Pema's eyebrows went up. "We all thought she and Mako were becoming so close…"

"She told me that had caused her to miss me more than she expected. Do you really think I would mistreat her?"

"No, but…it's like I said all those years ago. You just…aren't built for love, Lin."

This time it took a little more self-control for Lin to not strike Pema. When she spoke, her voice was almost a growl. "I would lay down my life for Korra."

"Well…are you sure…are you sure she really feels the same?"

"Didn't I just say that I am sure?" Lin snapped.

"Well, you know how…rebellious Korra is. Don't you think she might care about you because of what you…represent to her?"

"Pema, did you genuinely just ask me if Korra loves me because doing so is a method of…of teenage rebellion? Because if you did, then I'll need you to leave. Right this minute."

Pema held up both hands in a gesture of surrender. "All right, I'll go."

Lin held open the door for her. "And tell Tenzin that Korra is an adult and that he's overreacting."

"I know, but…Lin…" Pema paused in the doorway. "I believe you care about Korra. And if you really love her, you'll do the right thing. You're not the right person for her."

Lin's jaw clenched so hard she was afraid her molars might crack. "Somehow I disagree that breaking Korra's heart at a crucial time in her education as the avatar is the right thing. In fact, I disagree with the idea of breaking Korra's heart at _any _time is the right thing."

"You really think she'd be heartbroken?"

Lin ground her teeth. "Out. _Now._"

Pema was headed down the steps when Lin simultaneously heard and felt the now-familiar, heavy paw-falls of Korra's polar bear dog. "Oh, no," said Pema at the same time as Lin said, "Well, speak of the face-stealer and he shall appear."

Pema hustled quickly down the steps just as Naga reached the bottom of the staircase and Korra signaled for her to stop. Korra's beaming smile (she always grinned whenever she saw Lin; Lin loved that, how Korra was always delighted so see her even after all this time) vanished when she saw Pema. "Pema? What are you doing here?" With the typical rawness of teenage emotion, Korra's face suddenly contorted with anger. "Wait, you're here to try to get Lin to break up with me, aren't you? Do you have something against Lin being happy? Or is breaking up couples just your hobby?"

Flustered, Pema tried to reply, but couldn't come up with anything coherent.

"'My waterbender whose veins run with fire, cool the heat behind your eyes'," said Lin. It sounded to Pema like Lin was quoting; Korra apparently recognized the quote, and it took her attention off of Pema.

"Lin…" Korra leapt off of the polar bear dog's back and ran to Lin, completely ignoring Pema. She flung her arms around her lover. Lin hugged her tightly, but shot Pema a look that had made several a young triad initiate who was in the interrogation room for the first time dirty his pants.

Pema knew better than to hang around. She hastened down the road, but after a short while her curiosity got the better of her, and she turned to look over her shoulder. She saw Lin and Korra standing close with their foreheads touching, as if they had no idea that Pema was still watching them. Korra was beginning to cry; Lin cupped her face and brushed her tears away. When it immediately became apparent that Korra could not be comforted, Lin put an arm about her waist and gently led her inside. Korra went willingly, clinging to her lover and still crying.

Pema could have taken a cab, but she walked home because she wanted the time to think.

* * *

"I think we're wrong about this," said Pema for the third time.

Tenzin pinched the bridge of his nose. "Lin is thirty-three years older than Korra. There's no 'being wrong' about that."

"Have you ever seen them together? Besides when they told us they were a couple."

Tenzin paused. "No."

"I just don't think it's at all…" Pema searched for the right word to describe what she and Tenzin had previously thought of Lin's relationship to Korra. "…harmful. I saw them today. Korra was crying, and Lin was trying to calm her down…I saw the way they looked at each other. I don't think either of them is doing this to get back at us or because it will stick in your craw. They're just in love. Look, maybe…maybe Lin has gone soft in her old age, or something. She said something to Korra to get her to calm down and it sounded like she was quoting."

"What did she say?"

"Something about…'my Water Tribe girl whose veins run with fire'…"

Tenzin's brow furrowed. "'My waterbender whose veins run with fire'?"

"That was it."

"Are you sure? That's from a collection of love poems by Nama Tsu. Lin doesn't read poetry."

Pema made a helpless gesture. "I'm sure that's what I heard. Maybe she does read poetry now."

"How did Korra react?"

"She recognized it and ran right to her. Like Lin had made a habit of reading her that poem."

Tenzin sighed heavily. "What about Korra and Mako? Do we know if Lin had anything to do with them breaking up?"

Pema shook her head vigorously. "You should have seen Lin when I told her that Korra had left Mako. You'd think I'd have told her the sky had turned to fire. I'm not…I'm not even sure Lin understands how much Korra cares about her."

"I know Lin wouldn't…she's a good person. But her and Korra? It doesn't make any sense."

Pema shrugged. "I don't understand it either. But if they don't work out, they don't work out. Right now…I think we have to stop trying to keep them apart. It will just push them closer together. If they do break up, it will probably happen faster if we just let their relationship progress. And, really, sweetheart…they looked happy. And not silly adolescent love happy, either."

Tenzin ran a hand over his shaved head. "All right…I suppose."

* * *

Korra had mostly stopped crying. She lay with her head in Lin's lap while Lin caressed her scalp and hair.

"I wish it hadn't happened that way," Korra whispered. "But…I don't regret it."

"I know you had been considering…making me your primary. I didn't know you were planning to leave him."

Korra sighed. "He doesn't give me anything that you can't. I just…I'm not going to miss being with him. I have you."

"Pema told me some rather interesting things about what you said to him. She said you told Mako that I 'love you ten times more' than he ever could."

"Well, you do." Korra nuzzled Lin's thigh.

"Korra, I don't…I'm not a particularly loving person."

"Yeah, well, Mako didn't really even love me for me." Korra sniffed. "He had this idea of me, I think…that I was so brave and noble and self-sacrificing and perfect…" Korra's next words were muffled against Lin's leg. "I'm really not. It seemed like he just sort of put up with me at first, and then after Tarrlok kidnapped me, suddenly Mako was all over me, and maybe he wouldn't have even noticed me and things between him and Asami wouldn't have gotten all fucked up if I hadn't kissed him…"

"Korra, honey, was there a point to all that?"

Korra swallowed and tried to sort out her words. "I think…I think Mako was kind of thinking of me as something I'm not. It's…it's kind of a relief to not be held up to that or afraid I wasn't going to live up to it anymore."

"You were afraid?" Lin failed to keep the alarm out of her voice. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't…I didn't really know. Not until it was over. Not until I realized I wasn't so nervous anymore."

"I see." Lin gently scratched Korra's scalp.

"And…I still feel bad about what happened between him and Asami. I was a terrible friend to Asami for kissing her boyfriend, and I got together with Mako after I'd asked you to be with me…"

"You took responsibility for that first kiss you planted on Mako, and Asami forgave you. Stop beating yourself up for it. And I forgave you as well."

"I just…I know you love me. For me. Not because I'm the avatar. Not because I joined a pro-bending team."

Lin traced the lines of Korra's face and neck. "Well, that's certainly true."

"I don't deserve you, Lin."

"Where did that come from?"

"I couldn't choose between you and Mako, and I should have seen from the beginning that I'd rather be with you. I was selfish."

"But you learned from it."

"Yeah…I guess." Korra squirmed, climbing up into Lin's lap and resting her head on her lover's shoulder. "I love you."

"I know." Lin dropped a kiss on Korra's forehead. "I love you too."

Korra made a noise that could have been a laugh or sob. "It's so good to hear you say that."

"Look at me." Lin cradled Korra's face in her hands. "I'll have none of this nonsense about not deserving me. You're seventeen years old and your adolescence consisted of intensive training and completely abnormal socialization. I expect you to make mistakes and I love you despite them."

Korra's face broke into a watery smile. "Yeah, I had a weird adolescence." She leaned forward until her forehead was touching Lin's. "Can I stay the night? Please?"

"I was expecting you to."

"Good." Korra nuzzled at Lin's neck. "This is one of those nights when I just want to close my eyes and let you do whatever you want to me because I know it's going to be amazing."

"I have something else in mind. At least at first."

"Really?" Korra grinned. "What?"

"Hold on." Lin used both arms to support Korra's back and her knees, then stood, taking Korra with her. Korra clasped her arms around Lin's neck.

"Where are you taking me?"

"You'll see soon enough." Lin carried Korra into the master bathroom. "I wish I had a better place to lay you down to be all romantic and such, but you'll have to sit." Lin carefully put Korra down.

"Yeah, okay." Korra sat cross-legged on a small decorative rug. "What are we doing in the bathroom? I would guess bathtub sex, but you said you had something else in mind first."

"I do. Hold on a moment." Lin turned on the faucet, testing the water temperature with her hand.

"Honey, you know I'm a firebender and a waterbender, right? I can fix the temperature."

"That would be making you do some of the work. Which I will not allow at this point."

"Awww, Lin," Korra grinned. "Only you can be gruff and adorable at the same time."

Lin had apparently found the correct temperature; she let the water run and began rummaging in the vanity. "I know it's around here somewhere…"

"There's a bar of soap in the rack next to the tub."

"I'm not looking for soap…ah, here it is." Lin withdrew a ceramic bottle from the cabinet.

"What is that?"

"Have you ever been to a bathhouse?"

Korra shook her head. "No…why?"

"You can pay for a bath with an herbal soak. Some bathhouses allow you to buy some of their herbal formulas. The one in Republic City does that…sometimes after a 72-hour case, it's nice to come home to something unusually relaxing."

"72 hours? Really? Whoa."

"This one is my favorite." Lin uncapped the bottle. "Here, smell. See if you like it."

Korra obeyed. "Mm! That smells awesome. What's in it?"

Lin checked the bottle. "They don't list the ingredients, but this is 'Restful Twilight Accord'…spirits, the names they choose for these things…so let's see if I can remember…I know it has 'Accord' in the name because there's cream accord in it. And…rosehip seed, teak, amber, chamomile, lavender, lotus blossom, and…" Lin sniffed the bottle's opening again. "…mint."

"Whoa. I didn't know you were so into scented stuff."

"Korra, you're dating an old woman. Stop acting surprised when I act as such."

"So does it make me an old woman too when I ask if you can buy me like 3 bottles of this for my next birthday?"

"Oh, so you're still in denial. Good to know." Lin poured some of the mix into the bottle's cap and tipped the cap's contents into the tub. Korra leaned over the tub and sniffed again.

"Ooh, it smells even better in the water."

"That would be the point, honey."

"Can I get in now?"

"You're supposed to wait a few minutes, but you can go ahead."

Korra began wrestling with her shirt and breast bindings. "You're going to get in with me, right?"

Lin shrugged lightly. "My intention was to give you a bath, but I don't have to get in with you if you don't want me to."

"You'd better get in here!"

"All right."

As Lin began to undress, Korra, now fully naked, climbed into the tub. "Ahhhh. I am gonna smell amazing."

Lin folded a towel into fourths and stuffed it into one corner where the bathtub met the wall. "You can lay your head down here."

Korra did, letting out a happy sigh. "Am I going to get pampered?"

"Coming from you, I'm not exactly certain what that means, but I'll wash you…well, at least at first."

Korra giggled. "Okay."

Lin finished discarding her clothes. Korra gazed up at her, her eyes misting over. "What are you looking at?" Lin climbed into the tub and began soaping up the cloth.

"You. You're so damn beautiful. Do you just not age and dye your hair gray to fool everybody?" Korra held her arms out; Lin gathered her into a careful embrace. "Mmm…" Korra nuzzled and kissed her lover's shoulder. "Oh, spirits, you feel so good."

"So do you." Lin kissed the top of Korra's head.

"Now you have me all to yourself," Korra whispered, sliding her hands over the curves of Lin's back. "I love you so much."

"Are you continually saying that because you'll know I'll say it back now?"

"And if I am? I like hearing you say it."

Lin leaned back enough to give Korra a long, slow kiss. "I love you back."

Korra looked into Lin's eyes with a whacked-by-a-hammer grin that was ordinarily seen only on the faces of people who had consumed several helpings of _sake_. "Yeah, I could listen to you say that all day."

"Wouldn't it get less meaningful?"

"No. Maybe one day I'll follow you around saying 'I love you' constantly and you'll see I mean it every time."

Lin sighed. "You know what's terrifying? I think I would actually not be ready to slap you at the end of that day." She pressed the now-sudsy cloth to Korra's side and began to run it up her torso. "Now stop clinging to me. I'm trying to wash this awful day off of you."

"Yeah, that sounds like a good plan." Korra laid her head back on the towel as Lin began scrubbing her body, firmly enough to wash away dirt and oil but gently enough that Korra could tell it was her lover touching her. "That feels nice," Korra sighed. "Mmm…" Lin gently squeezed each of Korra's breasts as she washed her lover's chest. "Yeah, this is definitely a nice distraction."

"I'm glad." Lin moved the cloth up to Korra's neck and shoulders, then lifted up one of her arms to scrub the armpit.

"Eeek! That tickles!"

"What did you expect? I'm giving you a bath."

"I thought this was supposed to be all romantic! My armpits are not romantic!"

"It isn't romantic to leave you smelling like sweat and bending practice," Lin countered, washing the length of Korra's arm.

"You're right; you are bad at romance," Korra groused.

Lin sighed as she went to wash Korra's other arm. "Thinking you broke up with the wrong person now?"

Korra sat up. "What? Of course not! I'm just really ticklish."

Lin kissed Korra's forehead. "I'm sorry. That's a bit of a…a sore spot for me."

"Yeah, I know." Korra reached up and hugged Lin, then squirmed to kiss her scarred cheek. "Can I wash my other armpit, though? I know you wanted to pamper me, but it really is ticklish."

"All right." Lin handed the cloth to Korra; she gave her armpit a cursory scrub and handed the cloth back to Lin.

"Hey…Lin?"

"Hmm?"

"I know I say it a lot, but…I love you. A lot," Korra whispered.

Lin squeezed Korra's hand. "I know. I love you too."

"And I wouldn't trade our relationship for anything. Anything. I don't care that you're not all…I don't know, hearts and rainbows and flowers and stuff. I don't want you to think that I don't want us to be together because you wash my armpits."

"'Hearts and rainbows and flowers and stuff.' That's an interesting way to put it." Lin stroked Korra's cheek with her free hand. "But…thank you. I appreciate it. Now close your eyes."

Korra did, and Lin washed her face gently, careful not to get any soap in her eyes. Following that, Korra's upper body was now clean, so Lin turned her attention to her legs. "You have such beautiful legs. You always look lovely, of course, but those pants you wear so often are so baggy…it's nice to see your muscles."

"Maybe we're both wrong about you being bad at being romantic," Korra sighed. "Ooh!"

"I have to wash between your legs too."

"Hey, I don't mind," said Korra with a grin. "Just wish you'd done it more…"

"Later. Now turn around so I can wash your back. And I still need to shampoo your hair."

"Awwww. Fine." Korra sat up and turned around. She tilted her head forward as Lin scrubbed the back of her neck, then her shoulder blades, then her lower back. "Mmmm…that feels so good…" Korra leaned forward until her head was resting on the towel in the corner again.

"Korra, sit up. I have to wash your hair now."

"Okay." Korra straightened.

"Close your eyes again." Lin poured a handful of shampoo onto Korra's scalp and began to lather it.

"Mmmm, I love it when you massage my scalp."

"At this point, I could poke you in the eye and you'd say you enjoyed it."

"Or maybe you've just figured out how to make me feel good."

"Well, I would hope so, by now…" Lin picked up a ceramic jug from beside the tub, filled it with water, and upended it over Korra's head. "You're all rinsed."

Korra shook her head side to side. "Ahhh."

"Do you mind? You're not a polar-bear dog."

"Oh, yeah, sorry."

"Or maybe I should put a collar on you." Lin put pressure on the back of Korra's neck until Korra's head was again resting on the towel; Korra squealed.

"Ooh…maybe we should try that."

"Not right away." Lin ran her palms over Korra's back. "Mmm. You are lovely. I love your tattoos. And your shoulders."

"Mmmmm…" Korra arched her back into Lin's touch. "That feels nice."

Lin grasped Korra's hips gently. "Will you get up onto your knees for me?" she whispered.

Korra did. "Lin…? What are you doing?"

Lin fit herself to Korra's back like a shell, pressing tiny kisses to the back of her neck. "You said you always wanted to be facing me when we're making love? It doesn't feel as imtimate otherwise? Well…" Lin passed her hands over Korra's waist and hugged her briefly around the middle. "I'm right here."

Korra began to mewl and whimper as Lin hands slid up to cradle her breasts. "Hmmm…yeah…I guess we can try."

"You can tell me if you're uncomfortable. As always."

"Nnng…" Korra's spine curled downward, pushing her hips back, searching for friction. Lin shifted slightly so her thigh was resting between Korra's legs, providing the pressure she wanted. "Actually, Lin…this is kind of hot!"

"Glad you're enjoying it." Lin went back to her kisses on Korra's neck, moving down to her shoulder and adding her teeth to the equation.

"Oooh, I like it when you bite me like that! And when you do that with your hands…mmm…" Korra moaned as Lin's thumbs flicked expertly over her nipples. "The bath was nice, but this is the kind of pampering I was talking about!"

"I love how responsive you are," Lin murmured against Korra's shoulder. She couldn't help but chuckle softly as Korra continued to grind herself almost desperately against her thigh.

"That's one word for it!" Korra panted. "C-can I have your hand? Please?"

"You don't have to be so polite…but yes." Lin kept one hand busy at Korra's left breast; the other slid down to the join of her legs, two fingers sliding carefully into her lover's tight, sopping heat. "My, my, you are enjoying this." Lin crooked her fingers and began to stroke.

"Mmm…yeah…just there…" Korra's hips tilted again, this time to push Lin's fingers in deeper. "Ohh!"

"You like that?"

"Oh, spirits, Lin…more…"

"If you insist." Lin sank her teeth into the ball of Korra's shoulder, quickening the pace of her fingers.

"Ahhh! Yes! Yes! Ohhh, Lin…!"

Lin could feel Korra's inner thighs quaking; she gave a slight turn to her wrist so she could use her thumb, roughly caressing the swollen pearl of flesh at the top of Korra's sex. Korra let out a wordless cry of ecstasy, her body shaking wildly. Lin softly ran her fingers through Korra's hair and dropped a few soft kisses on the girl's shoulders. "Did I bite you too hard? If I did, I'm sorry."

"No, it's okay," said Korra faintly. She twisted around to wrap her arms around Lin and give her a warm, slow kiss. "What about you?" She trailed her fingertips up Lin's back.

Lin shook her head. "This was about me taking care of you. Maybe after we get into bed." She wrapped her arms soundly around Korra and pulled the girl with her as she lay down with her head on the towel. Korra ended up draped over her, and immediately adjusted to the new position, laying her head down on Lin's chest with a blissful sigh. Lin gently splashed some of the lukewarm water on the girl's body to keep her from becoming cold.

"Lin?" Korra murmured.

"Yes?"

"I, um…I think the secret is out. With Tenzin. He knows how much I love you. He's probably going to try to keep me from seeing you now. Except…I think he called the police on us this morning because I'm going to be eighteen soon, and then there won't be anything he can do. And…today, when Pema was here…um…"

"She was trying to get me to leave you, yes. Both she and Tenzin are convinced that I shouldn't be with you because you deserve better."

"They're stupid," Korra mumbled. "I don't understand what their problem is."

"Well, Pema thinks I'm a cold, bitter, uncaring bitch who never has time for my lover because I'm always working. And she thinks that because that's how Tenzin ended up thinking of me, except not nearly to that degree. Tenzin…I think he's afraid I can't give you everything you need emotionally."

Korra groaned. "Yeah, well, guess what? You can."

"Well, Tenzin may be acting like…oh, how did you put it…an overprotective cloud-brain right now, but he's not entirely unreasonable. He'll come around. He wants you to be happy."

Korra lifted her head. "What about you? I figured that you throwing yourself at an Equalist airship to save his family was a pretty definitive…um…burying-the-hatchet kind…of…thing. Why doesn't he want you to be happy?"

"He does. But not at your expense. And he still thinks I'm going to end up hurting you, if not at all intentionally." Lin sighed. "Can we please not have this conversation now?"

"Yeah, okay. I'd rather just cuddle for a little while." Korra kissed the center of Lin's chest. "I like being in the water."

"I'll bet. 'My waterbender whose veins run with fire'."

Korra smiled drowsily. "I love that poem. Can you read that to me tonight?"

Lin kissed the top of Korra's head. "Of course."

* * *

A/N: I just have this headcanon that Lin may be super tough and strong and badass, but she can be really sweet one-on-one.


	6. A Neutral Third Party

Scars and Bandages

Summary: Scenes taking place in the same universe/timeline/whatever as Wounds Both Old and New.

Disclaimer: If I owned Legend of Korra, Lin would have escaped from the Equalists in the season finale and rescue Korra from being de-bending'd by tearing Amon's head off with her bare hands. Also, bender privilege and Korra being the link between the spirit and material worlds would have been addressed WAAAAAAY more. But they wouldn't show the first one on a kids' TV program and...well, they'd better address bender privilege and Korra's spiritual side in book 2...yeah, wherever I was going with this, I don't own the show.

Pairings: Lin/Korra ("KorraLin", "Linorra")

Author's Notes: I had so much trouble with this chapter. I was raised by an emotionally abusive psychobitch and a spineless manchild, so I have no context for how reasonable parents act worried. I actually am currently on medical leave from graduate school because family therapy over Xmas break was such an atomic disaster it amped up my PTSD to life-interrupting levels.

Also, I love Naga and have a Linorra headcanon that Naga loves Lin as much as she loves Korra.

* * *

_A Neutral Third Party_

"You don't have to be so nervous, honey." Korra squeezed Lin's hand. "My parents are going to love you."

"They're younger than I am," Lin mumbled, her voice muffled by clenched teeth. "My girlfriend's parents are younger than I am. Do you have any idea how disgusting I feel right now?"

"Awww, Lin…" Korra leaned up to try to kiss her lover, but Lin flinched back.

"I mean it. If you kiss me, I might actually be sick."

"There's nothing in your stomach because you wouldn't eat this morning!"

"Because I knew I couldn't keep it down."

Korra rubbed her cheek against Lin's shoulder, trying to channel Sennahi, or possibly Naga. "It's cold out here. Let's go back inside." She wrapped an arm around Lin's waist, and the older woman let herself be led back into the cabin of the ship that was carrying them from the Earth Kingdom to the South Pole. "Even if my parents overreact to your age, I'm sure Katara can calm them down. I mean, she knows how amazing you are and that you take good care of me."

"Or she resents me for sleeping the reincarnation of her husband."

"You know she doesn't. Katara loves us both."

Lin let out a long sigh. "You're right. I'm just…I've been nervous ever since you told your mother about us and she couldn't think of a single positive thing to say in her reply letter. I wish I hadn't met them, if only briefly, when Katara was trying to return your bending."

"How come?"

"Their first impression was me looking fearful and dejected, not to mention not caring at all about how I looked. They probably read your letter, thought 'Lin Beifong…why does that sound familiar? Oh, spirits, is she talking about that old woman who showed up in our home with the airbenders after Amon took Korra's bending?'"

"I love you. Isn't that what matters?"

"It should be, but that's not how the world works." Lin shook her head. "For the first time in my entire life, I'm wishing my hair hadn't gone gray or that I'd dyed it."

Korra gently ran a hand over Lin's scalp. "I like your hair. It's so soft. I think it's pretty the way it is."

"I know, but it's almost rubbing your parents' faces in how old I am."

One of the crew members shouted from the prow that they were approaching the dock, and an earsplitting horn blew. Lin's hand tightened so hard on Korra's it made Korra yelp. "Sheesh, Lin!"

"I haven't been this terrified since my first beat after I graduated from the academy."

"It's going to be okay, Lin. I promise."

* * *

Lin had remembered very little about Korra's parents. She had been overwhelmed with concern for Korra and fear that her own bending would never be restored. Now that she was paying attention, she might have possibly thought "no wonder Korra turned out so beautiful" if she had not been thinking of how Korra's mother (whose hair was still as dark as Korra's, with not a gray strand in sight) could so easily pass for her older sister. To Lin, a snarling guard-polar bear dog would have been less intimidating. However, Lin was distracted from Senna's youthful appearance by the fact that Korra's father, Tonraq, not only looked about twenty years younger than Lin, but also wore an expression that was not unlike that of a snarling guard-polar bear dog. Lin was not accustomed to being made uncomfortable by the presence of a large, burly man, but this particular large, burly man was her lover's father. Lin had interacted with several convicted murderers, and Tonraq's expression might be accurately described as "murderous".

"It's good to properly meet you both," lied Lin cordially, making a small traditional Water Tribe gesture of greeting that she had learned from Katara years ago and Korra had assured her was still current. "I believe we were introduced before, but…not under pleasant circumstances." She extended one hand to be shaken; her other hand was clutching Korra's hard enough to bruise.

"I wouldn't call this pleasant," Tonraq muttered. Senna, for her part, reached forward to shake Lin's hand.

"Shall we sit down?" Senna offered.

Lin nodded in agreement. She managed to let go of Korra's hand long enough for Korra to put an arm around her shoulders and sit down beside her on the sofa.

"So," said Tonraq dully. "You two are in a relationship."

"Yep!" said Korra gleefully as Lin replied softly, "Yes."

"For how long now?"

Lin had to think about it, but Korra was apparently keeping track. "Ten months."

The first thing Lin thought was _Almost a year already. I had better not forget our first anniversary. _The second thing she thought was _That is a pathetic amount of time to be together and be this serious._ "Give or take," she added, not certain whether Korra was marking the night they had first kissed or the day Korra had returned the metalbending precinct's bending as the start of their relationship. Knowing Korra, she was probably thinking of the night they had first kissed. An unbidden memory flitted into Lin's mind from (apparently) ten months ago, one of Korra's faint murmur of "Lin, will you…um…will you touch my chest?" _Why didn't I just say no? _Lin thought, suppressing a shiver of disgust at her own behavior.

"That's not very long," murmured Senna.

"But longer than we knew about it," Tonraq added.

"Korra wanted to tell you," Lin replied. "But I…asked her not to at first. I was afraid you might be concerned about Korra being polyamorous. And my age."

"Just how old are you?" asked Tonraq in a voice sharp enough to draw blood.

Lin faltered for a moment, unable to give a direct answer. "I was born in 120 ASC."

"She's fifty." Korra rested her head against Lin's shoulder. "She's shy about it even though I don't care."

Lin couldn't resist giving Korra's hand a thankful little squeeze. She allowed herself to turn and drop a tiny kiss on the top of Korra's head, as that kept her from looking at Senna, who looked as if she were about to be sick. "It took me a while to actually start believing that Korra doesn't care about my age."

"Korra, did you know how old she was when you two…started…got together?" Senna stuttered.

Lin felt like mentioning that she was sitting right there, but managed to hold her tongue.

"Yes, Mom, I did," said Korra with an air of exasperation.

"You're a Beifong, aren't you? Toph Beifong's daughter?" Tonraq, mercifully, changed the subject with that question, but Lin wasn't sure she would like the direction it would lead the conversation.

"Yes, Toph Beifong was my mother, may she walk in peace in the spirit world." Lin found herself wishing fervently that her mother were sitting beside her telling Tonraq and Senna that her baby girl was plenty good enough for their daughter, age be damned, thank you very much.

"Your mother reconciled with her parents, and I understand that she inherited a large amount of money when they died. So you would also have been an heir to the 'Beifong fortune.'"

"Daaaaaad," Korra groaned.

"I live comfortably," Lin managed. "I could live a more…luxurious lifestyle, but it isn't like me. And I don't spend extravagantly on Korra, either."

"Lin has gotten me nice stuff, but she goes for meaningful presents rather than expensive. And we can't really go out together because of the whole public figure thing." Korra's head was still resting against Lin's upper arm; she turned to kiss Lin's shoulder.

"What Korra means is that we haven't disclosed our relationship to the public yet," Lin translated.

"Isn't that stressful?" Senna queried. "Having to hide it?"

"A little," Korra admitted. "I wish we could hold hands in public and things like that."

"We're planning to disclose soon. I know it's been hard for Korra; she's such an open and honest young woman. One of her more frustrating but also endearing qualities." Lin squeezed Korra's hand again.

"Awww, Lin," Korra grinned. "See, I told you guys she could be really sweet."

Tonraq apparently wasn't convinced. "Korra, could you give us a few moments alone with your…with Ms. Beifong?"

"My title is actually 'Chief Beifong'," Lin couldn't resist saying. If Tonraq couldn't bear to call her Korra's girlfriend, then he could at least get her title correct.

"Okay." Korra got up and kissed Lin's forehead. Lin resisted the (stupid) urge to wrap her arms around the girl and beg her not to leave her alone. Korra walked out, and Lin found herself gazing despondently at her lover's parents. Senna was still looking faintly ill, and Tonraq's glare hadn't softened much. Something inside Lin felt like it either dissipated or broke. There was no longer any point in trying to convince them that hers and Korra's relationship was healthy and functional.

"I'm sure both of you feel that I owe you an explanation," Lin began.

"You're damn right," Tonraq replied stiffly.

"Have either of you heard of reactive attachment?"

Both of them shook their heads and Senna murmured, "No."

"I see it in…" Lin was about to say "neglected children", but she was certain that one or both of them would take that as an insult. "After experiencing trauma or neglect, some people respond by either being over-affectionate or refusing all human contact. After Korra was kidnapped by Councilman Tarrlok, she responded by being over-affectionate."

"So that's why Korra is interested in you," Tonraq extrapolated.

Lin nodded. "None of us were certain how being extensively bloodbent would affect Korra's health. It was decided that she should stay the night with me, as I live much closer than Air Temple Island to the hospital. She considered her abduction to be evidence that she was a failure as the avatar, and it was while I was trying to convince her that that wasn't true that she first tried to kiss me. Believe me, I tried to dissuade her. She…she claimed that she wanted a relationship with me."

"That was the…start of your relationship?" Senna asked tentatively.

"I would say no, it wasn't. I insisted that we wait until after Amon was no longer a threat to Republic City because I did not expect to survive that long."

The silence that followed could only be described as "uncomfortable". Finally Senna interjected. "But you did…survive."

Lin nodded. "I had thought that Korra had lost her interest in me after she started a relationship with her pro bending teammate."

"But _you _broke them up," Tonraq snapped.

"That was Korra's decision, not mine," Lin demurred. "But…following Amon's flight from the city, Korra insisted that she still was interested in me."

"And you thought that gave you the right to take advantage of her?" Tonraq demanded.

Lin inclined her head, hoping to defuse his anger. "I was weak," she admitted. "I did return Korra's feelings for me. And the thought that her interest in me had faded was painful. Korra restored my bending, yes, but after I found out about her relationship with Mako, I was nearly unable to metalbend."

That resulted in another silence rife with discomfort. Both Tonraq and Senna were waterbenders, and they knew the kind of emotional devastation required to damage a bender's abilities. Unfortunately for Lin, Tonraq got over his shock quite quickly.

"So your hurt feelings gave you the right to take advantage of our daughter?"

"I was prepared to deal with my affected ability to metalbend in a way that did not involve Korra, but she insisted she still wanted a relationship. When I refused and accused her of toying with my emotions, she was…" Lin trailed off as her mind forced her to relive her conversation with Korra outside the precinct. Korra insisting she hadn't lied about her feelings for Lin, Korra crying… "…distressed. She apologized. She claimed she loved me. I was barefoot, and I could tell with my seismic sense that she believed what she was saying."

"She does seem to care for you," said Senna delicately.

"We're in love," said Lin simply.

"Chief Beifong…do you believe that Korra is happy with you?"

This time Lin could look Tonraq in the eyes to reply. "Yes."

"But she never would have been interested in you without this…this reactive attachment."

Lin nodded slowly, hating the lie but feeling that it was necessary. "After she was kidnapped by Tarrlok, she latched on to whoever was available. And I happened to be there."

"So when…so when will Korra…" Senna trailed off, unable to find a satisfactory way to complete her sentence.

"Recover?" Lin offered. Senna nodded, relieved that Lin had come up with an appropriate substitute for the phrase "get over you". "I don't know," she confessed. "I had suspected she already would have. Korra and I even have a...a system in place for when she decides to leave me. But the prospect of our relationship ending continues to upset her."

"Are you sleeping with her?" Tonraq demanded.

The question caught Lin off-guard, as it seemed to come out of nowhere. "Korra and I have been intimate, yes."

The murderous look was back in Korra's father's eyes. "So as much as you claim to care about her, you still used her…her condition to take advantage of her."

"Honey…" Senna laid a placating hand on her husband's shoulder. Lin thought it might be a bad time to mention that that was also Korra's special nickname for her, but the thought crossed her mind anyway.

"I am an officer of the law. My mother founded a shelter in Republic City for victims of battered women, including victims of sexual assault. I would never touch Korra without her consent. And with all due respect, Korra is of consenting age in both the Southern Water Tribe and Republic City." Lin paused. "I'd rather die than let any harm come to her."

Neither of Korra's parents had anything to say to that. After waiting for a response for a while and not getting one, Lin stood. "I think I'll retire for the night."

"Chief Beifong?"

It was Tonraq's voice. Lin turned back to face him. "Yes?"

This time, he didn't look like he wanted to snap Lin's neck. Instead, he looked as if he were about to cry. "If you really loved our daughter, you would leave her alone."

Lin sighed. "I suppose you're right. But as I mentioned, I have a weakness; I can't stand seeing Korra cry."

Somehow Lin managed to walk to Korra's room—not the guest room where she was supposed to be sleeping, because she absolutely needed to see Korra first—where she was already asleep, or at least well on her way to being asleep. Her beautiful dark hair was loose, and Lin gently ran the fingers of one hand through it.

"Mo-om…" Korra whined. "I'm not hungry."

"Korra? It's me."

At the sound of Lin's voice, Korra turned over and grinned sleepily up at her lover. "Hey, Lin." The smile quickly faded. "What's wrong?"

Lin realized her cheeks were damp, and she wasn't sure how that had happened. It took her a moment to realize she had been crying. "Korra…" she couldn't finish the sentence. Korra leaned up and hugged her tightly.

"Come to bed with me," Korra whispered. "We can just cuddle if you want."

"Korra, do you think we would be together if you hadn't stayed with me the night you escaped from Tarrlok?"

Korra thought about that for a moment. "I don't know. If not for that, I might not have had the courage to ask you out. Why?"

_Because I just did such a good_ _job of convincing your parents that you only are interested in me because of reactive attachment disorder I nearly convinced myself, _thought Lin, but she said nothing of the sort. "Your father wishes I'd never met you."

"He'll come around," Korra insisted. "Same as Tenzin and Pema."

"I…told your parents some things I now regret," hazarded Lin. "Regarding why you're interested in me."

Korra sighed. "Lin, honey, I love you, but sometimes you frustrate me."

"I know the feeling." Lin kissed Korra's forehead. "But it's much easier to think that you actually care about me when you have those damn eyes turned on me full force than when your parents are staring me down and telling me that I'd leave you if I really cared about you."

Korra made a face. "My mom said that?"

"Just your father."

"Lin, can you do me a favor?"

"Anything."

"Can you please go back and tell my parents that I'm madly in love with you because you're amazing and beautiful and you take good care of me, not whatever it is that you said?"

Lin sighed. "I may not use those exact words, but I will."

Korra kissed Lin hard. "Good enough."

"I'll see you in the morning, honey. After I speak with your parents again, they probably really will kill me if they find me with you."

"Yeah, okay. I can't wait until we have privacy again."

"Me neither." Lin dropped a small kiss on the girl's forehead. "Good night."

"'Night." Korra snuggled down in her blankets again as Lin walked out.

Senna and Tonraq were still talking about her.

"I just don't know what Korra sees in that old hag," Tonraq was saying as Lin approached the doorway.

Lin gritted her teeth; she'd been called worse. She was about to enter the room and say, "Korra assures me that she sees plenty in this 'old hag'." But then Senna's voice interrupted her.

"I'm worried about Korra." It sounded like Senna was crying. "I don't know what to think. Korra is…it seems like they're actually in love, and I don't see this ending well."

Lin peeked around the doorway. Senna was indeed crying, tears leaving shining tracks down her cheeks. _I know you're worried, _Lin wanted to say. _Don't be. We're happy._

"Maybe Korra will come to her senses," said Tonraq in a surprisingly gentle voice, resting a hand on his wife's shoulder.

"Or maybe she won't, and we'll end up with a daughter-in-law who is older than we are," Senna sobbed. Tonraq put his arms around her and she wept into his shoulder. "Did you ever imagine that someday we'd be having this conversation about our little girl?" Senna whispered.

"No," said Tonraq in a low voice. "I didn't."

Lin felt as if she were being ripped in half. No, not in half; some small part her was still aching to burst in and ask Korra's parents not to cry. The last time Lin had made a comment about being the last Beifong, Korra had interrupted and said that that might not be true if she took Lin's name. Korra wanted them to be a family. It wasn't supposed to start out with Korra's parents crying.

Most of her wanted to bolt back to Korra. Leaping onto an Equalist zeppelin and not expecting to survive was nothing compared to what she had just seen. Lin was no stranger to relationship problems, but never had she made her lover's parents cry.

She shouldn't run back to Korra. The girl was likely asleep and would offer her some non-specific explanation about how her parents would one day agree that their relationship was a brilliant idea. A conversation with Katara might possibly convince Senna and Tonraq that the relationship between Lin and Korra wasn't hurting anyone, but they wouldn't magically come around with time. Spirits only knew what had convinced Tenzin and Pema (not that Lin was complaining).

There was, however, a neutral third party nearby.

Adjacent to Korra's parents' home was a large wooden building that might have been called a stable had it housed different animals. The creature Lin was there for woke as her footsteps approached and, when Lin sat down in front of her, began to lick her face affectionately.

"Hullo, Naga," Lin murmured. "Who's a sweet girl?" She reached up to both scratch of Naga's soft, white-furred ears. A paw fell heavily on her shoulder. "Yes, I love you too."

Lin knew Korra would sometimes sleep beside Naga when she was upset, or sometimes just cold. She lay down, and Naga immediately understood what was going on. Lin felt one of Naga's enormous forelegs fall over her back and pull her against the impossibly fluffy belly.

Lin was almost surprised. She knew that Korra was the first known person to domesticate a polar bear dog. Korra had also mentioned that her friend Bolin had bonded with Naga, and had joked that polar bear dogs must never have been domesticated by members of Water Tribe because they got along best with earthbenders, and as the avatar, Korra counted as a member of that category. Naga had been comfortable enough with Lin to lick her face for a while now, but allowing Lin to sleep tucked under her foreleg was another thing entirely. "Why, Naga," Lin murmured. "I didn't know you cared."

Naga nuzzled Lin's hair, making snuffling noises that could only be described as "adorable".

"Oh, I see."

Lin hadn't expected to be able to sleep with her mind in the turmoil it had been experiencing a few moments ago, but apparently polar bear dog cuddles were just as comforting as badgermole cuddles. After Tenzin had left her, Lin had spent more than a few nights asleep in the badgermoles' cave, sandwiched between Detchen and Cheng, who knew she was hurting. She was asleep within moments.

* * *

Senna knew that when Naga was staying with them, she often hunted her own food, but there was a degree of domestic pet to her. Senna had been terrified at first that the polar bear dog—who even as a cub, had been bigger than six-year-old Korra—would be dangerous, but the cub had adored Korra, particularly when Korra gave her treats. Senna had had to teach Korra about the appropriate foods for a polar bear dog, and Naga had learned to expect treats from Senna as well. So Senna was bringing Naga a bucket of fish when she opened the door to the barn, expecting Naga to be sleeping alone. So when she saw what was clearly a human body tucked under Naga's arm, she shrieked in surprise and dropped the bucket.

Her shriek woke both Naga and the sleeping human. Naga scrambled up and began hungrily devouring the spilled fish. Lin was slower to get up, but soon she was upright and looking Senna in the face…and looking none too pleased.

"I…I'm sorry." Senna stuttered. "I thought Naga might have…might have…bitten you, or…she _is _a wild animal…"

"Sorry to disappoint you," grumbled Lin, whose mouth was always awake before she was. Senna blushed darkly; Lin rolled her eyes and knelt beside Naga and began scratching her ears. "Hullo, Naga. Are you having a snack?" Naga gobbled down the fish currently in her mouth and turned to begin licking Lin's face almost aggressively. "Ugh. Yes, sweetie, I like kisses…maybe not when you have such severe fish-breath."

Senna's mouth was hanging open with surprise. "She…likes you."

"Of course she does. You're Korra's mother; doesn't she act like this with you?"

Senna shook her head slowly. "No…you do know Korra is the first person to domesticate a polar-bear dog, right?"

"Of course, but Naga has still known you for years." At the sound of her name, Naga began licking Lin's face again. "Yes, Naga, we're talking about you. Smart girl."

"She's never been that affectionate with either me or Tonraq," said Senna, still sounding a bit gobsmacked.

"Korra thinks she might like earthbenders. She's very fond of her friend Bolin."

"Er…that must be it," Senna stammered. "Well…my husband is making breakfast. Would you like to come in?"

"Breakfast? Hmm…all right. But if you poison me, your daughter will know it was you."

"We wouldn't do that! Um…Naga seems to like you, so…well, that's a good sign."

Lin walked past Senna with a sigh. "I'm so glad you trust your daughter's polar bear dog more than you trust her."

Senna stuttered awkwardly for a while, but then followed Lin to the house. Senna got into the entryway just in time to see her daughter giving Lin a tight bear hug. They were only across the hallway in the kitchen, but both of them suddenly looked as if they had forgotten Senna was even on the same continent.

"Hi, Lin," said Korra with a sleepy smile, stepping back from their embrace. "How did you sleep?"

"Surprisingly well, thank you, honey." This time Senna didn't feel as much like flinching when Lin touched a small, chaste kiss to Korra's forehead.

"I talked to Dad this morning. He says you didn't talk to him last night." There was a small note of accusation in Korra's voice.

Lin pulled Korra into a kind of half-embrace, her fingers linked behind the girl's back. "I didn't exactly have the opportunity. Your parents were not open to the conversation. I went to sleep with Naga."

Senna felt as if a fist had suddenly clenched around her stomach. Chief Beifong had overheard her and her husband discussing how much they hated that Korra was in a relationship with someone so much older than her? Exactly how much had she heard?

"You went to sleep with Naga? I know she likes you, but you could have come stayed with me."

Lin made a noise that was probably a chuckle, except there was no mirth in it. "I thought sleeping with Naga was more…appropriate."

"Oh, come on, that means you didn't want my parents finding us cuddling." Korra made a face.

"That's a small part of it," said Lin evasively.

Korra's expression changed to one of concern. "Lin, honey, is something wrong?"

"I'm fine," was the clearly false reply. "I'm just hungry."

"Yeah, well, maybe if you had eaten something last night…"

"I wasn't feeling well."

Korra reached up to touch Lin's face. "Are you okay? Do you think you're going to be sick?"

"If I do end up being sick, I'll make sure to rinse my mouth out before I kiss you."

"You used to give me ginger tea when my stomach wasn't feeling well, but I don't think we have any here." Korra's brow furrowed with concern. "If we did, I'd make you some."

"That's sweet of you, but I'll be fine."

"Korra, breakfast. Where's your mother?" That was Tonraq, who had apparently finished making the morning meal.

"I'm right here." Senna hastened into the kitchen; she hadn't been able to bring herself to interrupt Korra and Chief Beifong's conversation. Abruptly she realized that neither she nor Tonraq had made any effort to prepare breakfast that would be palatable for someone who was not from the Water Tribe; Katara had often talked about how when she had been traveling the world with Aang, she and Sokka had always been overjoyed to find any place where they could have Water Tribe cuisine…and Aang had tried to hide his disgust at the prospect of Water Tribe food with extremely limited success. But the three other residents of the house, including Chief Beifong, were already seated around the table and had started eating.

"Is there any black tea?" Lin inquired politely.

"No," said Tonraq gruffly, while Senna replied "We aren't really a tea-drinking household, but there's some white tea with lavender."

"I would like to brew myself a cup, if that's all right."

Tonraq made a noncommittal noise in the back of his throat; Senna said, "Yes, that would be fine."

Lin got up as Korra's parents sat down. Korra hopped up as well to use firebending to heat the water for Lin's tea, so she wouldn't have to wait for the kettle to heat over the wood stove. "Thank you, Korra," Lin whispered when her tea was successfully steeping.

"You're welcome." Korra kissed Lin's shoulder; Korra's parents weren't watching, so Lin allowed herself to give Korra a one-armed hug and press a soft, quiet kiss to the girl's sleep-mussed hair. They returned to the table together, where Lin quietly ate without complaining about the Water Tribe cuisine.

"So, I see you like Water Tribe food," Senna tried.

"A Water Tribe restaurant recently opened in Republic City. It's called the Sapphire Seaboard," Lin explained. "Korra was ecstatic when she found out about it, so I often treat her to meals from the Sapphire Seaboard when she spends dinnertime with me. It's a bit of an acquired taste, but I believe I've acquired it."

Senna's brow furrowed. "So you don't actually go out?"

"We haven't disclosed our relationship to the public," replied Lin, and Korra felt the need to add a "yet". "We're both public figures who face a lot of scrutiny. So for now, our dinner dates are at my apartment."

"Oh—right. You told me that last night." Senna looked flustered.

"Yeah," Korra sighed. "But it's hard to keep it a secret. I want to be able to be with Lin in public. But it won't be forever." Korra squeezed Lin's knee under the table. "Right?"

Lin managed a small smile in Korra's direction. "Right."

The rest of the meal passed in silence, and then Lin politely excused herself and went to the guest room. Korra followed her after a short interval.

Lin was sitting on the corner of her mattress, slumped over and looking dejected. Korra knelt beside her and laid her head down in Lin's lap. "Hi, Lin," Korra whispered. "You really aren't feeling good, are you?"

"Hello, Korra," Lin sighed, running her fingers through Korra's loose hair. "You're right. I'm feeling fairly horrible and disgusting right now."

"I'm sorry." Korra sat up and tried to kiss Lin, but Lin made a face and pushed her away.

"Not now. Not while your parents are in the next room being…being younger than I am."

Korra kissed Lin's shoulder. "Does it really bother you that much?"

"That my girlfriend's parents are younger than I am? Yes, it makes me feel sick to my stomach. I shouldn't have had breakfast."

"Yeah, well, I don't think you've eaten since before we got here." Korra wrapped both arms around Lin's waist and nuzzled her shoulder again; Lin gently took hold of one of Korra's hands and kissed it.

"I feel like a horrible person. Everything I've done to protect the people of Republic City and I still feel like scum because I'm in a relationship with a teenager, and I couldn't refuse her for her own good because I'm too damn in love."

Korra kissed the back of Lin's neck. "Awww. Sometimes I forget how adorable you are. And you are not scum. You're fantastic. You're fantastic and I love you, no matter how much older you are than I am. Since when does being in a relationship with somebody a lot younger than you make you a bad person?"

Lin took a deep breath. "In and of itself, it doesn't. Your parents seem to think that my age automatically means I'm somehow taking advantage of you, though."

"Yeah, well, Tenzin used to think something equally stupid, but he came around."

Lin kissed Korra's hand again. "My squad isn't in charge of sex crimes, but I suppose I've seen enough lecherous old men who are preying on girls who are barely of age because they're actually pedophiles…"

"Oh, yeah, that's totally you. It's not like I was the one to kiss you first or anything."

Lin couldn't help snicker at Korra's sarcasm. Korra was rarely sarcastic, but she was picking it up from Lin.

"Your father would welcome the opportunity to strangle me."

"Oh, he would not." Korra paused. "Although my parents aren't being as supportive as I thought they'd be. I thought they'd be happy that I'm happy."

Lin paused for a moment. "I think they're afraid that you won't be happy for long. Your father accused me of taking advantage of you." Lin made a mental note to herself never to tell Korra about Tonraq's choice epithet for her.

Korra groaned. "You know what? I don't care anymore. I love my parents, but whatever they think, I want to be with you."

Lin swiveled in place to pull Korra into her lap. "As terrible as I feel right now, I couldn't imagine leaving you."

"Good." Korra looked over her shoulder to make sure neither of her parents were approaching, then leaned forward to leave a tiny kiss on Lin's mouth. "You're stuck with me. Speaking of being stuck with me, when we get back home, I'm keeping you in your bedroom for a day straight."

"I'm an old lady. I don't have that kind of stamina."

"One, no you're not. And two, I usually get worn out before you do. Maybe I should have you tie me to the bed…"

Lin managed a smile. "Make it with silk-wrapped metal cables that I can bend and I might consider it."

A clamor from the front entrance alerted both of them, and a moment later, Senna called to her daughter: "Korra, Katara's here!"

"Katara!?" Korra leapt up and dashed to the front of the house, followed quickly by Lin. The elderly waterbender had barely shuffled into the house when Korra rushed up to her and hugged her tightly. "Katara! Katara, hi!"

Katara was chuckling good-naturedly despite the fact that Korra's hug probably would leave bruises. "It's good to see you, Korra. You should have told me you were visiting home!"

"Sorry," said Korra, stepping back with a grin. "We were a little preoccupied with other stuff."

Lin was hovering behind Korra. "Aunt Katara…?"

"It's good to see you too, Lin," said Katara with a warm smile; Lin stepped forward and received an embrace from the woman who had been like a second mother to her.

"I didn't know you we would actually get to see you." Lin found herself blinking rapidly, attempting to keep a wave of unexpected tears at bay.

"Well, when I heard that the avatar was visiting, I had to come by." Katara squinted up at Korra's parents, who had joined them in the entry hall. "Senna, Tonraq, I hope you don't mind me coming by unannounced."

"Of course not!" Senna cried.

"You're always welcome here," Tonraq added. "We know how much Korra means to you."

"Let's not stand around, though; shall we go to the kitchen?" Senna gestured in that direction. "Katara, would you like something to eat or drink?"

"No, thank you, Senna, but I will sit down." Katara walked to the kitchen, limping slightly and leaning on her cane.

"You weren't using a cane the last time I saw you," Lin murmured.

Katara fanned a hand to wave off Lin's concern. "I'm old, Linny. This is what happens."

Korra snickered lightly at the epithet. "Can I call you that, 'Linny'?"

Lin sniffed and sat down at the table next to Katara. "Not on your life."

"Awww. You're no fun." Korra laid her hands on Lin's shoulders and squeezed to show she was kidding.

Katara's eyes sparkled as she aimed a wrinkled smile at Korra, then Lin. "So why didn't the two of you tell me about this?"

Lin's mouth fell open, and Korra blurted out "Wait, how did you know?"

Katara smiled. "At my age, I can pick up on these things, and I've known both of you since you were in diapers."

Tonraq and Senna edged into the room. "Katara, I didn't know you had known Chief Beifong that long," Senna spoke up.

"Why, of course," said Katara. "I actually changed a few of Linny's diapers."

Lin covered her eyes with one hand. "For the record, I just want to reiterate that Aunt Katara is the _only _person who gets to call me that."

"I still think it's adorable that you call her 'Aunt Katara'." Korra sat down and leaned her head against Lin's shoulder. "And I still want to know how you knew you knew about the two of us! We weren't even holding hands when you walked in."

Katara smiled. "I saw the way Lin was looking at you after you returned her bending…and when I thought there was no way to restore _your _bending, for that matter. I figured it was just a matter of time."

Tonraq and Senna sat down across from Lin, both of them eyeing her.

Lin sighed. "Was it that obvious?" She found herself wishing that she had found out Korra had kissed Mako before Korra had returned her bending. Then she might not have looked so happy or…or hopeful after she first tested her restored earthbending. Korra's little bow—no embrace, no smile, no anything—had been a blow, but she had hidden that well.

"Awww, Lin." Korra draped an arm around Lin's neck. "Yeah, that was during my…very stupid detour."

"Detour?" Katara inquired.

Korra made a face. "I decided to date one of my pro bending teammates. It didn't work out. It was really dumb of me. But we're happy now."

"I can see that." Katara's smile became a grin. "And it's wonderful to see."

Korra inched her chair closer to Lin, who couldn't resist returning Korra's one-armed embrace. She had known that there was a very slim chance of Katara disapproving of hers and Korra's relationship, but after Tonraq's disapproval had just fallen short of throwing Lin out, she had found herself mentally preparing for the worst.

"It is kind of weird to think about you knowing Lin as a kid before I was born," Korra mused.

_You are not helping, _Lin nearly hissed. Korra was getting better at watching her mouth…very slowly.

But Korra wasn't finished. "I bet she was a handful, huh? Did you ever have to help Toph get her under control."

Katara laughed, a deep belly laugh this time. "You'd be right, Korra. Your girlfriend was a holy terror when she was small."

Lin rubbed her hands over her face. "Aunt Katara, can we _please _not go down this road?"

"Nonsense," Katara scoffed. "If your mother were here, she would insist on telling the Pumpkin Lord story. She's going to give me an earful in the spirit world if I don't."

Korra snickered. "The 'Pumpkin Lord story'? I have got to hear this!"

Lin sighed. "I suppose I have no say in this."

"Nope!" said Korra cheerfully.

"Fine." Lin resorted to rubbing her temples. "Proceed," she said sarcastically.

"So, Katara, tell us the Pumpkin Lord story. I'm really curious now!"

"So am I, to be honest," Senna piped up.

"Well, when Aang was training to confront Fire Lord Ozai, we tried to help him practice. At one point, Sokka built a dummy for Aang to practice on while pretending it was Fire Lord Ozai. The dummy had a large melon for a head, and since Toph was acting as the dummy's forces, she insisted that she was not Toph; she was 'Melon Lord'."

Korra snorted and burst out laughing. "That's _hilarious! _But I thought you said this was about Lin…and pumpkins, not melons."

"I'm getting to that!" Katara insisted. "Anyway, Toph loved to tell Lin stories about her days with the Avatar and his friends, and one of her favorites was the story of the Melon Lord. In fact, sometimes when Lin was in trouble, Toph would pick up a melon and say 'Lin, the Melon Lord orders you to go to your room'!"

"Awww!" Korra laid a hand on Lin's arm. "Did your mom really do that?"

"Yes," Lin mumbled, sounding rather pained.

"The pumpkin comes into this story when one day Toph attempted to use a melon in her argument that Lin should go to her room because the Melon Lord said so, she accidentally picked up a pumpkin. And Lin? She never let Toph hear the end of it!"

Korra snickered, and this time Senna laughed too. Even Tonraq looked to be stifling a chortle. "So did Toph decide to become the Pumpkin Lord, then?"

Katara shook her head. "No…one day, Lin decided that she shouldn't be punished yet again for earthbending in the house. The little hellion was always tearing up the floors, pulling up rocks from under the house."

Korra released another gale of laughter, and this time, both her parents joined her. "Why am I not surprised?"

"On this particular day, there was a pumpkin on the counter in the kitchen. So Lin knocked it down, and it broke, of course, and then put the largest piece on her head. She grabbed a dishtowel, tied it around her neck, and ran around screaming 'I am the Pumpkin Lord! I am mightier than the Melon Lord, and the Pumpkin Lord refuses to go to her room!'"

Still cackling, Korra squeezed Lin's shoulder. "Did that really happen?"

"What do you think?" said Lin through the hands that were still covering her face.

"Toph eventually convinced Lin to go to her room that one time. But after that, Toph could never have pumpkins in the house, because otherwise Lin would become the Pumpkin Lord again. It would mean a long bath to get the seeds and pumpkin innards out of her hair, and of course the pumpkin couldn't be eaten. That didn't stop Lin, though; she would still tie a towel around her neck, put anything orange she could find on top of her head—or her mother's police cap, if she could find it—and run around being the Pumpkin Lord."

"Wait, how did you know she used something orange?" Korra gasped through her laughter. "Toph couldn't exactly see that."

"The Pumpkin Lord phase lasted about two years; from when Lin was five to when she was seven. I visited a few times, and Lin always felt the need to dress up."

Lin was now slumped over the table, her head resting on her folded arms.

"Honey, I'm going to call you 'Pumpkin Lord' now." Korra briskly ran a hand up and down Lin's back.

Lin sat up, her face the approximate color of the flesh of a guava. "If you do that, I won't kiss you for a _month_."

"Awww, you're so cute when you blush." Korra kissed Lin's cheek.

"Katara, please no more stories," Lin muttered.

Katara chuckled. "I think I've embarrassed you enough."

"Thank the brightest spirits," Lin sighed.

"Senna, I will take some tea now, if you'd be so kind," said Katara politely.

"Of course." Senna got up.

"Funny story, Katara," said Tonraq.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it," Lin grumbled.

Korra wrapped her arm around Lin again. "I won't make fun of you for this, honey, but the idea of six-year-old you being the Pumpkin Lord is really, really cute."

Lin managed to smile. She had always hated being humiliated, but Katara had managed to break the ice…so to speak. And hearing about her as a small, misbehaving child would make Korra's parents see her as a human being, not just a threat who might be preying on their daughter.

"At least you now have evidence that I was cute at some point."

"You're cute now." Korra kissed Lin's cheek.

Lin still didn't want to kiss Korra on the mouth in front of her parents, so she kissed her forehead. "Thank you, honey. So are you."

* * *

A/N: I finally finished this damn chapter. My muses are struggling. They want me to break up all my happy couples.


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